Bruised Heart
by silverfang493
Summary: "I didn't save her to get her to trust me or for you or anyone else. I only did what I thought a hero would do. Isn't that what everyone wants me to be?" Vixen snarled at Chat. He sighed and shook his head. "Sometimes the world just needs a hero, Vixen." She glared at him, her eyes burning holes in him. "Too bad I'm not a hero."
1. prologue

The sun was shining, birds were chirping. Clouds floated lazily by the sun, temporarily blocking out it's light and sending out promises of happier times being just around the corner. That was, until the building exploded, throwing black smoke and debris into the air. Vixen was thrown back by the blast, her shoulder colliding harshly with the asphalt. She sat up, holding the injured shoulder with her opposite hand, knowing it would bruise. A hoarse scream drew her attention away from her shoulder and back to the building. She stared at the carnage in horror, frozen in place despite the sense of dread growing in the pit of her stomach.

Smoke billowed up from the charred and broken remains of the warehouse. The scent of blood was thick in her nostrils and she spat a mouthful of the red liquid out, a metallic aftertaste assaulting her tongue. Cold wind blew through the ruins, biting through her suit and stinging her eyes. She looked around, blinking grit and ash out of her eyes. Vixen pushed herself up into a crouch and took a deep breath, sucking hazy air into her lungs and coughing up more blood. She got up, stumbling toward the building, pausing at every opening to see where her brother might be. _Something's wrong._

She stepped in and looked around the warehouse, taking in the partially burned machines and blackened wooden walls. Something was wrong. Shifting a charred log with her foot, she glared at the floor through narrow eyes. It seemed oddly familiar. She looked around again, moving to the end of the corridor. Her footsteps kicked up ash and dust. Her foot hit something soft and she knelt down to get a closer look, brushing debris and ashes away from what turned out to be a body. There was a yellowed piece of paper on the chest and she grabbed it for later investigation.

 _It almost looks like… no, it can't be._ Her breathing became ragged and uneven as she released her hold on the body and backed away from it, blood roaring in her ears. She practically flew out into the courtyard, her heart pounding. The tattered note and the mutilated face seemed to stare into her soul and she could almost hear it's mocking laughter. The image was burned onto the inside of her eyelids. _This isn't how it's supposed to go._ She turned and fled through the front gate, trying to put as much distance between herself and the industrial district as possible. Her foot caught on a rock and she lurched forward, flailing her arms out to try and regain her balance. Vixen slammed into the ground, stones digging into her face with her arm crushed under her. Groaning, she pushed herself up and blinked rapidly, her hair falling into her eyes. Blood wept from a wound on her neck and seeped from between her fingers as she pressed a hand to her side. She didn't think the clones had sustained enough damage to make her bleed.

The fire department had shown up, as had the police. One officer helped her to her feet, telling her she needed medical attention, but she only heard the voice distantly. Her eyes were still glued to the building, to the fire and smoke. That awful face. She couldn't get it out of her head, the horrible mutilation. She'd registered somewhere in her mind that it was her brother's body she'd run from, her brother that had been deformed and killed. The note was still crumpled in her fist. She allowed herself to be lead to the paramedics, who briefly looked over her, but her wounds were already starting to heal. They let her leave soon after, claiming she didn't need help. If only they knew how she was handling this latest fight. The akuma was gone, but that didn't make her feel any better.

The reporters swarmed her as she was leaving the scene. "Vixen, can you tell us about the akuma?"

"Vixen, where is your partner?"

"What made the building explode?"

"Why didn't you stop this?"

That made her stop. Why _hadn't_ she stopped this? Why had she let her brother go into that warehouse alone? Where was the akuma now? He'd said he'd taken care of it, but why would he have needed to go back in if it was gone?

"Vixen, is the death of your partner connected to you?"

That was a stupid question. _Of course_ his death was connected to her.

"Is his death your fault?"

Something inside her snapped and she glared at the reporters. A low growl rose in the back of her throat, her eyes narrowing. How _dare_ they accuse her of causing his death! She considered attacking them all right then, but she might lose her miraculous if she did that. Rhys was always lecturing her about using her powers correctly. She also constantly talked about the kwamis in Paris though, so maybe her ramblings were just like the terms and conditions that no one ever read.

"Was my partner's death my fault?" She growled out, baring her fangs at the reporter who'd asked the question. "Is that the kind of thing you publish in your paper? Nothing, but the negative things about what my partner and I do? How about I ask you a question. Is the fact that your paper is failing _your_ fault?" She snarled.

There were audible gasps and Vixen realized she'd probably just labeled herself to the public as some sort of vigilante or anti-hero. They didn't usually support those. Or maybe, she'd labeled herself an unstable criminal. Those got even less support than vigilantes.

The reporters had overcome their shock and were clamoring toward her now. They shoved cameras and microphones in her face, their voices merging and turning into a big blur of noise. Her heart rate sped up, her eyes widened and she looked around, hoping for some sort of escape to present itself. Why did they want her attention so badly? Despite what they thought, she wasn't a hero, she didn't do any of the "heroic" things she did to help them.

They were crowding closer now and some civilians had joined the reporters. Vixen's eye twitched and a headache started. She pressed the heel of her hand into her eye. Most people thought she was weird, but it usually worked. They pressed closer to her and her adrenaline spiked and she tried to back away from them. Finally, her patience ran dry and she screamed. Not a normal, frustrated scream either. The sound that came out of her mouth was like the wail of a banshee and it made every person within earshot drop what they were doing and cover their ears. Vixen stopped, breathing heavily and looked around. They were all looking at her like she was some sort of freak now.

She turned and ran, accusing whispers following her home. She dropped into the alley behind her house and untransformed, running inside before someone could see her. She'd messed up. This wasn't how the day was supposed to have gone. Her kwami floated up to her eye level, glaring at her. "What was that?"

She couldn't answer, she wasn't there. In that moment, in her head, she was still watching that building explode, watching her brother die. She was still kneeling next to his mutilated body and she couldn't stop it. She heard crinkling and noticed that she still had the note clutched in her fist. She slowly flattened it back out and read it, her eyes narrowing and anger surging through her.

 _Your brother was even more useless to me than I thought he'd be. -Hawkmoth_


	2. Chapter 1

**To the reviews!**

 **Scorpiustheconstellation: Thank you! To be honest, I'm actually really nervous about posting this story.**

 **To the story!**

"We should get sugar." Rhys called over her shoulder at me, floating down the aisle. I sighed and rolled my eyes, following my kwami reluctantly. "We don't _need_ sugar, Rhys. We have an industrial sized bag at home." The tiny fox-like creature sent me an annoyed look. "No we don't. It's not that big." I rolled my icy blue eyes again, brushing my hair out of my face. "Alright, that was an exaggeration, but you eat too much sugar."

As usual, she ignored me and continued toward the sugar. "Rhys, don't even think about it." She floated further away from me and I sighed again. "Rhys." Still no response. I glared at the back of her head, reached out and latched onto her tail. She growled in annoyance and bared her teeth at me. I ignored her and made my way back to the cart. "Nydra, let go! This is cruel and unusual punishment!" I rolled my eyes and grabbed the cart handle, pushing it out of the baking aisle and shoving Rhys into my pocket as we came into the main area of the store. I didn't understand how she could go from being the embodiment as sass and wisdom depending on the day to being obsessed with sugar and baked goods. I was suddenly extremely glad I hadn't felt the need to stress bake lately. "Rhys, if you don't stop talking, people are going to find you." She continued to grumble dejectedly and I imagined her arms were crossed and her tail was twitching angrily. I meandered through the bath section and grabbed a couple bottles of shampoo and conditioner, wondering silently if Chloe was going to be a prick like usual tomorrow. Despite living in France and having gone to the local school for the past three months, I still hadn't made any connections with anyone. It was better if I didn't, that would mean no lying or having to awkwardly come up with reasons for absences and missed dinners or parties. Chloe just happened to be one of the unfortunate victims of my silent hatred for humanity, though her entire personality and upbringing certainly didn't help her.

I ambled toward the self checkout, snatching a small package of cookies and throwing it in the cart. Hopefully, that would appease Rhys until we got home. After checking out, I left the store and slowly made my way to the apartment Rhys and I lived in. It wasn't very big, but it was enough for the two of us. I fumbled with my keychain, trying to balance groceries on my hip while I struggled to find the right key. Rhys sighed and phased through the door, unlocking and opening it. "Honestly, Nydra. You make everything much more difficult than it has to be."

"Well, unlike you, I can't phase through whatever I want to." I sneered at her, my patience being worn thinner by the minute as I entered the house and shut the door with my foot. I went to the kitchen and set the bags on the counter. "Nydra, there's someone at the door!"

I snorted and ran my hands down my face. "I don't care."

"I think it's a police officer."

 _Great._ I inched out of the kitchen and opened the door, plastering a pleasant smile on my face. "Can I help you officer?"

He regarded me with cold eyes, gesturing to the left. Another officer joined him, her eyes narrowed at me. "We've gotten multiple reports of you being alone here, miss. May we talk with your parents?"

"Alone?" I repeated, trying to put a joking tone into my voice. "Well, _of course_ I'm alone. You don't expect my parents to take me out of school just to go on a boring business trip, do you?"

The female officer raised an eyebrow at me. "Your parents are on a business trip?" I nodded, hoping I wasn't doing anything to reveal that I was lying. She didn't look convinced. "Your neighbors have told us that in the three and a half months you've been here, they've never seen anyone who remotely seemed like parents to you."

"My neighbors are nosy and don't know when to leave things alone." I snapped, irritation sparking. "My parents are on a business trip and they left shortly after we moved here. Good day." I moved out of the doorframe and shut the door, my knuckles white.

"You know, most cops don't like it when you slam the door in their faces." Rhys commented from the back of the couch.

"I didn't slam the door." I muttered, turning and going back to the kitchen to finish putting the groceries away. "Let me know when they're gone." I put everything away, running a hand through my hair and grimacing at the oily feel. "Rhys, I'm getting in the shower. Don't eat all the sugar while I'm in."

"That was one time!" She snapped as I went into the bathroom and turned the water on, steam soon filling the room. The process of washing and conditioning my hair only took about twenty minutes and I was just standing under the warm water when Rhys phased in. Finally noticing her, I shrieked in surprise and jumped back, hitting my hip on the shower niche and sending the metal contraption and its contents flying along the floor. "Rhys!" I hissed, stooping down to pick up the soap, razors and shower gel. "What the hell was that for?"

"There's an akuma."

"Now? Are you serious!?"

"Yes, now. Come on!"

I turned the water off and stumbled into my room, hurriedly throwing some baggy clothes on. "This couldn't have happened at a worse time."

"I'm sure it could have." Rhys replied, her snarky attitude back. "What are you doing?"

"Getting dressed, what does it look like I'm doing?" I snapped, glaring at her. "I don't want to be running around outside naked if we detransform."

She scoffed. "Honestly, you humans. Animals never have to worry about things like modesty."

"Well, if you hadn't noticed, I'm not an animal covered in fur!" I snapped. "Fangs out!" When I opened my eyes again, everything seemed sharper and more in focus. I grinned and left out the back door, ninja-ing my way up onto the roof. People seemed to be running from near the Louvre, so I headed there. As I landed on the edge of a building across the street, I noticed with growing irritation that both Ladybug and Chat were already here. The villain had fire flickering and dancing up down his arms and was currently hurling fireballs at Ladybug and Chat. I jumped down onto the pavement and strolled over, like I was on a normal walk and not about to get my face burned off. He seemed to notice me and smiled, "Well, well. What's this? Has the puppy come to beg for a bone?"

"Puppy?" I repeated, feigning indifference. "I'm no puppy. Can I call you Hades?" The way his hair randomly erupted into flames reminded me of the disney interpretation of Hades. Ladybug rolled her eyes at me, but I ignored her and walked closer. "I have an idea. Let's make a deal. You come quietly and I won't rip you to shreds." I heard Ladybug scoff, but kept my gaze focused on the villain, trying to subtly find what his akuma could be in.

His eyes narrowed at me, before he started laughing and fire rippled up out from a bracelet and up his arms. "I don't think so, Vixen. You're not my type."

I raised an eyebrow at him as my lips curled into an amused snarl. "Are you sure? Because I thought sexy as hell was everyone's type." Ladybug rolled her eyes and sent me an unamused look, but Chat snickered. Despite the situation, I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to be as sassy as possible. His bracelet started glowing red and he thrust his hand out, a fist forming behind him. It flickered and crackled as I expected any fire would and hovered above him before he moved his arm up and slammed it back down. The fist followed suit, the heat alone making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I dodged out of the way and rolled to the ground as he tried another strike. I came to a stop, crouched low, keeping a wary eye on my assailant. The bracelet flickered again. _The akuma must be in there._ I made an impatient gesture at Ladybug until she noticed and motioned toward the bracelet. She made a face at me that seemed to say, _Well duh!_ and moved toward the akumatized victim. I had yet to learn his name, though with the way things were going, I didn't think I'd ever hear it. He flung an arm out toward Ladybug, a whip of fire swinging towards her. She jumped back, sending the villain an annoyed look. He turned and ran into the Louvre, flames trailing him. I turned to Ladybug, sending the red and black clad girl an irritated glare. "What the hell were you thinking?"

She rolled her eyes at me. "I was thinking you'd distract him and I could get the akuma. It's not my fault you weren't paying attention."

My eyes narrowed at her. "Oh yes, let's just try and sneak up on someone who could burn us to a crisp in three seconds flat, that's a fantastic idea!"

"It was better than whatever _you_ were trying to do!" She snapped, crossing her arms. She started doing air quotes as she talked. " _I thought sexy as hell was everyone's type._ What was that?"

"Oh I'm sorry, I just naturally assumed you knew what sarcasm is since you always act you're so much better than me." I snarled. "Is the _lovely_ Ladybug admitting to not knowing something?"

"Are you ever cautious?" She asked.

"Do you ever stop to listen to others or do you just think you're think you're right about everything?" I growled. This of course had nothing to do with the original topic, but if she was going to change the subject to insult me, I would do the same to her.

She lifted her chin in defiance and I knew I'd offended her. "I may not be right one hundred percent of the time but I always pull through in the end."

I rolled my eyes and scoffed. She groaned and rolled her eyes back. "Is that all you do, get annoyed by others without giving them a chance?"

"You mean like how you didn't give me a chance?" I snarled, my eyes blazing. "Like how you immediately assumed that I was like Volpina and have been judging _me_ based on _her_ actions since the first minute we met!?"

"I've just been cautious!" She nearly shouted at me. "And you've given me almost no reason to trust you."

I crossed my arms. "So, it's okay for you to be cautious, but god forbid I do the same. That's what you're telling me."

"You're not cautious, you're arrogant."

"Have you lost someone because of this life?" I asked in a quiet voice. All the color drained out of Chat's face and he moved forward a step. Ladybug sent him a look that said 'stay there' before looking back to me. "I haven't because I have had Chat to help me, but that doesn't mean I don't take my job seriously, unlike you."

"I take this very seriously." I snapped, my tail twitching angrily. "You're just too childish to move past your stupid distrust and realize that. I don't trust, you've given me no reason to. I just want to get this over with."

"I've given you plenty of reasons to trust me. You on the other hand, haven't been surprised by any of the latest attacks or the tactics used by the akumatized. It makes one start to wonder." She finished cooly.

"Would it make you happy if I betrayed you right now and started attacking you?" I asked, just the tiniest bit dejected. "Then you'd finally get what you want! I'd be just like Volpina and you'd finally be able to justify hating me so much. Isn't that what you want?" Complete silence followed my outburst and Ladybug looked away from me. That's when it dawned on me with horror that that was _exactly_ what she wanted. She wanted me to turn evil, so she'd be right. Either that or she was done with my sass. Chat stepped forward before I could decide which it was.

"Ladies, you're both pretty. Can we go now?" His voice wasn't nearly as cheerful as usual.

Ladybug and I both looked at Chat in vexation. "What?"

His goofy, joking smile fell away, replaced by something that was akin to sadness or defeat. "Why do you two always fight? Can't you manage to get along for twenty minutes?"

My anger at Ladybug wilted like a flower dying in winter at his downtrodden expression and I sighed. "I'm sorry."

"What!?"

"Not to you." I muttered, sending Ladybug yet another annoyed look. I turned back to Chat. "Twenty minutes, that's it."

He smiled halfheartedly. "That's good enough for me." The three of us made our way to the Louvre and Ladybug gestured for us to split up. I crept down a hallway, my ears perked. Footsteps came up behind me and I turned, extending one of my fans and holding the blades against.. "Chat! Ladybug told us to split up!" I grumbled, mostly annoyed with him for scaring me, but I wasn't going to admit that to him. He shrugged. "I wanted to make sure you were okay. The two of you got a little deeper into the argument than you usually do."

I turned and made my way down the hall again, calmer now that it was just him. Chat followed me, his arms behind his back. Honestly, I was surprised he'd let the argument go on as long as it had. Usually, he tried to stop Ladybug and I from tearing each other's throats out _before_ one of us had a major outburst that led to uncomfortable silences. I realized he was still waiting for a response and shrugged. "I appreciate the concern, but I'm fine." The fact that Ladybug and I hated each other seemed to upset him in the extreme, which I found odd. What sounded like glass shattering drew my attention to a dimly lit hallway to my left and I couldn't help smirking. "Well, it's obviously a trap, which means we should set it off anyway because that's how we capture him." Chat and I exchanged a look before moving into the smaller hallway. The lights flickered and went out, which didn't make sense to me, but I continued down the hall anyway, my eyes rapidly adjusting to the dark.

Chat hurried up behind me. "Have you noticed that you have a bad habit of running off on your own when you shouldn't?"

I shrugged. "Foxes are solitary creatures."

"Is that why you refuse to work with anyone?"

"Among other things." My ear twitched and I stopped, feeling Chat bump into me. I ignored it and looked around. "He's not here. We need to go."

"You're the one who said this was a trap, but that we should go anyway!"

"Yes, I _know_ that!" I hissed, looking around desperately for an exit. Light flickered at the other end of the hall. "That way."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes! Come on!" No, I wasn't completely sure, but I had a gut feeling that it was the way to go. We practically sprinted down the hall, to the light. My hands slammed into glass and I growled in annoyance. "You willing to jump through a window?" I didn't give him time to answer, I just backed up a few feet then took off, crashing through the glass. I landed in what looked like a parking garage, glass shards pattering off my shoulders. A dark form stumbled out from behind a cement pillar and froze when it spotted me. Chat landed next to me, sending a small vexed look. "He's gonna run." Chat said, his gaze locked on the villain.

"No he's not." I argued, not looking toward the cat themed hero next to me. The akumatized turned and ran away from us, limping. Apparently, he'd been caught by Ladybug but had managed to get away.

"You owe me." Chat replied, chasing after the villain. I ran after the two of them, my heart hammering against my ribs. I skidded to a stop just at the entrance to the parking area and watched Ladybug crush the bracelet under her foot. The akuma flew up and she purified it, the reporters swarming her soon after. Chat took the victim over to the ambulance and sat down, talking to him. I stepped back, disappearing before any of them could look up and see me lurking about. I headed home, detransformed and went inside.

"Good night, Rhys."

"It's only six o'clock. You haven't eaten all day."

"I don't care." I crawled into bed and closed my eyes, my heart heavy.


	3. Chapter 2

**To the reviews!**

 **MadelVer: Thank you! Yes, I suppose it's sad, but that's what I was going for. I'm trying to do a parallel here. *throws cake at you***

 **To the story!**

"I'm the only one who's ever kissed anyone anyway." Chloe proclaimed arrogantly. "I mean, who would kiss any of the rest of you?"

"You're so far ahead of everyone else, Chloe!" Sabrina beamed.

"I know!" The blonde smiled, flipping her hair. "I'm perfect, aren't I?" I rolled my eyes and decided to go back to glaring daggers at my homework. Giving up on the math, I put my things in my bag and zipped it closed. Alya scoffed and I tried not to snicker, picking my bag up. If Chloe knew what was good for her, she'd shut up now. Unfortunately, no one was that lucky. Having been heard, Chloe turned on Alya and sent her a scowl. "Do you have a problem?"

Alya rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I do. Class is almost over. Do we really need to hear about this?"

"Oh? And who have you kissed, four eyes? You realize your brothers don't count, right?"

My stomach soured and I got up, stepping toward Chloe with a purpose. She turned to me as I got closer, her eyes flicking nervously between me and the door. "What are you-" I kissed her cheek, turned and walked out of the room. The bell rang a few seconds later and I'd gotten to the entrance of the school before Marinette and Alya caught up with me. "Girl, that was epic! You should've seen her face after you left!"

"Too bad it didn't mean anything." I mumbled sarcastically. "At least now she can't say she's the only one to kiss someone." Alya laughed and moved in for a high five, but I wasn't expecting it so we ended up looking like spastic ballet dancers. Nino and Adrian walked up a few minutes later and I was once again told how "amazing" my latest outburst had been. I was only partially listening to Nino, because I was still trying to figure out how I'd managed to obtain four people to follow me around and act like I belonged in their group. After the disastrous first day when (according to Alya) I'd left Chloe so speechless, she couldn't form a coherent sentence- which I'd only heard about, not seen because I hadn't cared enough about the situation to pay attention and find out the results. Since then, Alya and Nino had started trying to befriend me and had dragged Marinette into the drama. Adrian seemed to have just followed their lead, because now I was stuck with all of them, though it seemed that Adrian didn't really like me. I assumed I was too abrasive for him. Marinette had pulled out her sketchpad and I peered at her curiously. "What are you drawing?" Her head jerked up and she looked at me like I'd figured out her weakness and was about to use it against her, which was ridiculous. I'd only do that to Ladybug, once I figured out what she was afraid of. "Just a design idea." She mumbled, carefully turning the book so I could see. "It's great." I replied, genuinely meaning it, despite a little voice in my head telling me I needed to leave. Marinette and I butted heads and I considered her more like a friend of a friend. "You!" I jumped at the loud voice and turned to see Chloe glaring at me. "You'll pay for what you've done!"

I considered ignoring her, for about two seconds. I couldn't help it. I smirked at her and closed the distance between us, making sure our noses were almost touching. "Are you sure you didn't just come over to beg for more?"

Blushing intensely, she backed away from me, her eyes blazing. "Wait until I tell Daddy about you!"

"Oh please do." I shrugged, completely nonchalant. "I'd love to hear from him. I mean, it's not everyday you get to meet the mayor of Paris." This clearly wasn't the answer she wanted because she huffed, stomped her foot and stormed off. I sent the others a feigned look of confusion. "Was I supposed to act like I was scared?" I was only partially kidding. Chloe seemed to think she was intimidating and that people should fear her or bow to her, neither of which I planned on doing. _Alright, this has gone on long enough._ "I'll see you tomorrow guys." I turned and started to walk away. Suddenly, arms wrapped around my shoulders and I was dragged back to the group, kicking and squirming. "Alya! What the hell?"

She planted her hands on her hips. "Don't you remember? Marinette invited us all to come over after school! You didn't remember, did you?"

I sighed and shook my head, pushing my bangs out of my face. "No, Alya, I didn't. It's been a long week."

"It's only wednesday." Nino piped up and I narrowed my eyes at him. He smiled and chuckled nervously. "But, yeah, I suppose it's been tiring."

"Let's go!"

We all formed a mini mob and started towards Marinette's house, the walk only taking a minute, since she lived so close. The door swung open and the scents of pastries overwhelmed me. It was intoxicating. I was drawn over to a display case full of colorful macaroons and delicate looking eclairs. I mentally calculated the price and told myself to remember to buy a few for Rhys before I left. "Hello everyone." I jumped and turned my attention to the man in the doorway at the back. He smiled at us and moved toward the counter. "It's been awhile since you all came over." His bright green gaze locked on me and he smiled again. "I'm Tom. Are you one of Marinette's friends?"

My eyes widened and I smiled nervously at him. "Uh-" Alya threw an arm around my shoulder, cutting me off. "This is Nydra! She's new at school!" I smiled again and nodded in agreement, my eyes locked on my feet.

Tom chuckled. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Nydra."

"It's nice to meet you too sir." I mumbled, my gaze drawn to the pastries again. My stomach growled lowly, reminding me that I hadn't eaten since my rushed breakfast of burnt toast that morning. I was suddenly tugged away from the pastries and dragged through the back, up the stairs and into Marinette's room. I pulled away from Alya and sat near the door, so I'd be able to get out quickly if I needed to. Adrian and Marinette started playing their video game, which I tried to block out. Nino sat behind them, alternating between cheering them on and listening to his music. I scrolled through the pictures on my phone until I came to a recipe I'd been meaning to show Alya and listened as she gushed over the apple ladybugs. I smiled at her. "I figured you'd like them considering you run a _whole_ blog based on Ladybug."

Alya smiled at me. "They're great! Can I put them on the blog?"

"Of course." I mumbled, looking briefly at my lap. "What do you like about Ladybug?" The room had become oddly silent and I looked up to see that everyone had stopped what they were doing and had started watching me. "What?"

"She's so brave!" Alya burst out. "Always saving the city and stopping the akumas."

"Chat Noir does those things too." I growled. _Ladybug isn't the only hero Paris has._

"But they're a team." Adrian piped up. He almost looked relieved that I had mentioned Chat. "They'd be nothing apart."

"What do you think of Ladybug, Nydra?" Nino asked. He must have heard the underlying irritation when I asked the question.

I shrugged. "Honestly, I think everyone has put her on a pedestal."

Everyone except Marinette looked shocked. She looked like she wanted to yell at me. I met her eye as I spoke, "She's no different than any of us. She can't be much older than us either. Sure, she and Chat save the city, but they're not magical beings or anything." I closed my eyes then opened them again, suddenly wishing I hadn't brought this up. "Everyone makes them out to be gods and they're not. They're just normal people and everyone basically worships them. I doubt they even _enjoy_ being worshipped the way they are. No one is willing to see that they're not perfect. Everyone in this city wants to believe they are and that's just unrealistic. No one is perfect; everyone has flaws."

"Ladybug may not be perfect, but she does the best she can." Marinette said quietly and I could tell I'd offended her.

"I'm not saying she doesn't." I replied, still watching her carefully. "I'm just saying that everyone sees her as this god-like figure and she's not that figure. She's not perfect, but none of us are." Maybe I was biased because of how Ladybug had always acted towards me, but in my head, that gave me an advantage people who didn't work with her didn't have. She wasn't always the kind, benevolent person they saw. Taking note of how tense the atmosphere of the room had gotten, I stood and smiled at the four of them. "Well, I am afraid I have other business to attend to. I must bid you all adieu." I left the room and made my down to the bakery, my stomach growling again. I bought a few macaroons, eclairs and croissants, waving to Marinette's father and leaving the store. As soon as we were out of sight, Rhys flew out of my hoodie, sending me an annoyed look. "Smooth, Nydra." I shrugged and handed her a macaroon. She bit into it, momentarily going silent as she chewed. "That was diplomatic." She said sarcastically once she'd finished the pastry. I sighed and swallowed my bite of croissant. "I'm sorry, it's just that everyone puts Ladybug on this pedestal and ignores the fact that she has Chat's help. They think she's this amazing, benign person and they don't realize that she's not as fantastic as they think she is."

My kwami rolled her amethyst eyes. "Yeah, and you're not at all biased on the matter."

"I never said I wasn't!" I snapped, my eyes narrowing at her. "I'm just saying that they need to open their eyes and accept that their favorite 'hero' isn't perfect."

"You're so bitter. It's a wonder Hawkmoth hasn't gotten to you yet."

"You try losing your entire family." I hissed.

"Why did you get so irritated when Alya made it sound like Chat doesn't do much to help Ladybug?"

"Because they're supposed to be a _team,_ and yet, Ladybug still seems to get all the credit and attention. Chat may not always be the easiest person to handle or get along with, but he's seems like a nice guy." I was probably biased about that too, considering Chat was willing to give me a chance while Ladybug wasn't. I'd have to ask him why he had given me a chance later.

"Nydra, do you like Chat Noir?"

"No!" I replied, too quickly for anyone to take me seriously. "He's just a-" I stopped. A friend? He certainly seemed to see me as one. "He's just another guy." I glanced at my bracelet, my name spelled out in silver thread against a black background. I sighed, remembering the boy who'd given it to me. "Let's go home."

"We still have to do patrol."

I groaned and sent her a pleading look. "Really? Can't we just let Ladybug and Chat patrol alone for once?"

She crossed her arms. "You're the one who gets annoyed because they don't stay out for very long."

There was a flicker of movement in the corner of my eye and I whipped around to get a better look. A flash of white disappeared behind a building and I rushed toward it, catching myself on the corner as I careened around it. _It can't be._ I watched the blur move away from me. It was already too far away for me to see, but I could've sworn.. Tears gathered in my eyes and I bit my lip, silently willing them to stay back. _Damn it! Get it together, Nydra._ "Nydra?" Rhys floated over and stared at me worriedly, but I wasn't paying attention to her. _It wasn't him. He's dead. He wasn't there._ I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down, to get back in control. I fixed my gaze on a point on the wall until I no longer felt like I was about to break down. "Let's go home."

This time, my kwami didn't argue with me.


	4. Chapter 3

"Nydra!"

I groaned and turned to face Adrian, not bothering to plaster a pleasant smile on my face. He was probably here to scold me. "If this is about what I said about Ladybug a few days ago, I already apologized to Marinette for upsetting her. I'm sorry if I came across as rude when I said it, but it's true." I knew I was being kind of mean, but I always felt like I had to stand up straighter and act like a "lady" when he was around.

He slowed down, meeting my gaze head-on. "Well, no, that's not what I wanted to talk to you about, but it's good that you apologized. Marinette was pretty upset about it."

"Which is why I apologized." I grumbled. "If that's not what you wanted to talk about, why are you here?"

"I'm just carrying a message."

I raised a questioning eyebrow at him, silently urging him to continue.

He coughed and smiled nervously at me. "I know Chat personally and I just-" He cleared his throat. "I told him what you said and he wanted me to tell you that he appreciates you bringing his actions up. He doesn't feel like people see him, y'know?"

 _I didn't know that Chat knows Adrian._ My mood cheered up a little. I knew Chat sometimes felt like he was nothing compared to Ladybug and I was glad I'd made him feel better. "Well, you can tell him that I appreciate what he does for the city."

Adrian's small smile grew wider and his eyes lit up. "I will!"

 _Dear god, he's sunshine personified. How can one person be that happy?_ I pulled myself out of my train of thought before my mind could wander and smiled at him. "I'll see you later, Adrian."

He rubbed the back of his neck, sending me that nervous smile again. "Right. See you later, Nydra."

I turned and walked away. Rhys flew out of my hoodie and settled on my shoulder. "I didn't know Chat knew Adrian." Glad that my kwami hadn't known this fact either, I shrugged, which caused her to cling to my hoodie and glare at me. "I suppose if I actually wanted to get to know him outside the mask, we might've known that little tidbit."

"I'm sure it would help if you paid a bit more attention to the rest of the world." Rhys mumbled, settling on top of my hood. It seemed to be one of her favorite spots.

"You know I don't care about the rest of the world." I replied. _The outside world defines who you are._ A voice in my head hissed and I flinched. Such a familiar voice speaking such familiar words. _If the rest of the world perceives you as weak, that is what you are. Never forget._ I sighed and started walking again, my mood ruined. It'd had been awhile since I'd heard that voice, only now I wished it would stop talking.

"Nydra," Rhys started hesitantly. "You don't have to worry about what your brother would think anymore. He's dead. He can't-"

"You think I don't know that?" I hissed. "You think I don't know that he's dead? I realize that and yet, he keeps showing up everywhere, doesn't he? I thought I saw him a few days ago, after all." Despite everything I'd ever told myself about crying in public, tears welled up in my eyes. "He's gone. He's dead and he's still controlling my life anyway." Maybe I was just going crazy and _that_ was why I was seeing my dead brother everywhere. It wouldn't be the first time my mental state had become questionable. "We should go on patrol." I mumbled, trying to distract myself from my current train of thought.

"If you want to." Rhys replied, flicking her tail.

I nodded, mostly to reassure myself. "We need to."

"I don't think we _need_ to."

"We didn't go a few days ago."

"And you haven't slept in three days. I don't see how patrol is more important than your health."

"Rhys!"

" _Fine._ No need to get irritated. Let's find a place to transform."

About ten minutes and a few close calls later, I jumped onto a nearby rooftop and started patrol. It had been a long day, but it needed to happen. Ladybug and Chat didn't stay out very late, or at least, I hadn't ever seen either of them when I stayed out late. I went through patrol a bit quicker than usual, but decided to stay out a bit later. The sun was just starting to set and I looked around again. Still no sign of Chat or Ladybug. I hoped it would stay that way. I didn't really feel like talking to either one of them right now. I strolled across yet another roof, my mind wandering. Arriving at the edge, I sat down, my legs dangling over. My gaze wandered to the street below and I realized how far away it was. _It I just jumped off-_

"Vixen!"

I jumped, the voice tearing me out of my admittedly dangerous thoughts. I turned and regarded Chat with cold eyes. "What?"

He stopped, sending me an injured look. "Am I not allowed to talk to you anymore?" His dejected look sent a pang of hurt through me and I sighed. He grinned, knowing he'd won and plopped down next to me, grinning lazily. "What are you doing up here?"

"Sitting on a roof." I replied in a flat voice. Normally, I could handle being around him, but today was different. "I _was_ enjoying some quiet."

He either missed the barb in my voice or ignored it because he looked away and smiled again. "Beautiful view, don't you think?"

"Yes, I suppose." My eyes narrowed at the blond next to me before I cleared my throat. "I'm sorry, was there something you needed?"

"No need to be so cold, Snowy."

I bit back the scathing retort that sprang to mind at the nickname. _Patience. Breathe, just like you learned. One, two, three, four.._ Once I felt calm again, I opened my eyes and regarded Chat again.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Will it make you leave me alone?" He sent me another hurt look and I sighed. "I'm sorry. Fine, what's the question?" Truthfully, there was something I wanted to ask him.

"What was your first akuma?"

I'd told myself that I was prepared for whatever question Chat asked me. I'd told myself that I'd do what I always did and answer in a calm, collected manner, keeping with the cold demeanor I gave off. I was not prepared for this question and there was no way I was answering it calmly. My hands were shaking, I thought I distantly heard Chat asking if I was okay. I took a deep breath and watched Chat. "Tell me about yours first."

He seemed nervous now, as if he were worried I was going to snap at him, but he nodded and began, "His name was Stoneheart. He got akumatized because he tried to tell the gil he liked how he felt and ended up scaring her."

I scoffed. If that was his first akuma, then Chat was about to be dumbfounded. I turned my attention back to him and listened intently. "Love is stupid." I muttered, once he'd finished. "He kidnapped her? Isn't that a bit drastic?"

"People do crazy things for love."

I rolled my eyes and stared at the street far below us. "It makes you weak and vulnerable."

Chat blinked and stared at me for a few minutes before shaking his head. "Alright. What was your first akuma?"

I sighed and looked straight at him, my icy blue eyes burning into his green ones. "His name was Cole Jennings."

"His villain name was Cole Jennings?"

"No, that was his civilian name. His villain name was Firestarter. His akuma was a silver lighter with black flame designs on it. He got akumatized because his parents found he was doing drugs and they cut him off. He didn't think that was fair and he was going through withdrawal. It just got to him, I guess."

Chat looked like he was trying to process that. I assumed this was darker than he'd been expecting. "Is he off drugs now?"

I looked away from him, suddenly uncomfortable. "You could say that." I mumbled quietly, that old guilt coming back.

"What do you mean?"

"He's dead."

Chat froze, his eyes wide. "H-how?"

"He overdosed two and half months after I helped him." I replied, keeping my gaze locking on the street. "I checked on him everyday for weeks and one day, I just didn't have time. I found him the next day with-" My breath caught in my throat and I took a deep breath before continuing, "with a needle in his arm."

"I-I'm sorry."

I sighed and shook my head, plastering a fake smile on my face. "It's in the past."

"I'm sure you did everything you could."

I grit my teeth, anger and guilt exploding in my heart. "No, that's the thing. I _didn't_ do everything I could." I stood up, turning away from Chat. "If I'd done everything I could, he'd still be here." I ran to the edge and jumped, the wind whistling past my ears as I fell. I landed on a lower rooftop and quickly jumped my way across town. _Everyone always says that I did everything I could, but I_ didn't! _Even his own parents said it and they-_ I was so lost in thought that I misstepped just before my jump and ended up crashing into the wall across the alley from me. Too distracted to catch myself, I fell to the ground. The landing knocked the wind out of my lungs and I curled into a ball, my eyes squeezed shut. _God damn it! Why do they keep telling me I'm a good person?_ I assumed I'd have bruises where I'd landed on my shoulder and back, but I was used to it.

I realized suddenly, that I hadn't asked Chat the question and began laughing hysterically, tears welling up in my eyes. My laughter soon died down to giggles and then sniffles and I brushed the stray tears away. I was _not_ about to cry in public. _This is the second time today. I've got to get myself under control._ Of course, there weren't any people in the alley, but that didn't matter in my mind. I was still in public. I sat up, my mind still spinning, but determined to get home. I stood and turned, shrieking in surprise and jumping back. There was someone standing at the entrance to the alley. "H-hello." I said finally, my heart still pounding.

The figure stepped closer, revealing a boy with red hair and turquoise eyes. "Are you okay?"

I brushed imaginary dust off my outfit and smiled pleasantly. "I'm fine. You're Nathaniel, right? I think I have a friend who's told me about you."

He sent me a wary look and clutched his sketchbook close. "A friend? That's told you about me?"

I nodded, realizing that this wasn't my best lie, but now that I'd said it, I had to go with it. "She's in your class at school, I think. Blonde? Kind of a jerk." The silence continued for an uncomfortable amount of time and I decided to just drop it. "Anyways, I should probably get going. See ya." I moved to jump to the roof, but Nathaniel stepped closer again.

"Wait."

I stopped and sent him a questioning look.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

The question made me pause. No one really ever stayed around long enough to realize that _no_ , I wasn't okay. I drew my out of my train of thought and smiled at him again. "I appreciate the concern, but yes, I'm sure. I'm alright." I jumped before he could ask again and made it back to the house before I let myself question why he'd asked twice. I decided not to ponder over it and that he was probably just like that. I detransformed and walked into the kitchen, intent on finding food.

"Nydra, I have a question."

I riffled through the pantry, ignoring her for a minute until I found pasta. "Ask it then." I said finally, putting the bag on the stove and looking around until I found a pot.

"What were your parents like?"

For some reason, the question made me stop. What had my parents been like? I didn't remember much about them, just bright summer gold hair and a warm smile. "I don't really remember." I confessed, resuming my task of making pasta. "They died when I was little, remember?"

"You just never talk about them."

"What is there to talk about? They died in a car crash when I was three. I think I remember a smile, but that's it. There's really not that much to it, Rhys."

"No need to get all defensive. I was just asking."

I returned to the pantry and dug around some more until I uncovered a plastic bag of honey roasted cashews. I tossed the bag over my shoulder at Rhys and assumed she caught it since I didn't hear it hit the floor. Feeling the apartment was too quiet, I went over to my laptop and typed an address into the search bar. YouTube popped up and I typed in a song, a small smirk growing. Rhys wouldn't be happy with my choice, but she was too busy eating her cashews to notice what I was doing. The song started and I hummed along with it, holding back a chuckle as Rhys looked away from her cashews long enough to listen. Her ear twitched and her eyes widened in horror. "You didn't."

I got up and strutted back to the kitchen, still humming. "I did."

" _H-hey. Bye, bye, bye."_

She groaned as the song continued and banged her forehead on the wall. "I still can't believe you like Nsync."

I stuck my tongue out at her and resumed making dinner, singing softly to myself. "I can't take no more, it ain't no lie. I wanna see you out that door, baby, bye bye bye. Bye, bye."

Another loud groan from my kwami made me chuckle and I returned to my laptop, pausing the song. "That better?"

"It'd be even better if you closed that window completely."

I tried an innocent smile. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You know exactly what I'm talking about, Nydra Rose Rosling."

I scowled. "I never should have told you my middle name."

"No, you probably shouldn't have."

I shrugged, completely nonchalant. "I guess I just won't buy you roasted cashews anymore."

"That's not fair! Is it because I used your middle name?"

"Yes it was."

"Nydra! That's so unfair!"

"I wonder what your basis for comparison is." I muttered, strolling back into the kitchen, trying to hold back a smirk.

Rhys groaned yet again. "Fine! I won't use your middle name on you anymore."

A triumphant smirk spread across my face and I turned to face her. "Great. I'll be sure to get my cashews next time we go to the store then."

She crossed her arms, pouting. "You're mean."

"Yes, I'm awful. I'll have to work on being a better person, won't I?" I cackled as she continued to pout, now refusing to look at me. "Oh, Rhys. You know you love me."

She wouldn't look me in the eye, but I just barely managed to hear her mumble, "Yeah, I do. For some reason."


	5. Chapter 4

"Didn't you already get an interview from Ladybug?" I asked Alya, forcing myself to stay awake. I hadn't slept at all the night before and it was starting to take effect, despite all the coffee I'd had that morning and the cold water I'd splashed on my face just a few minutes before.

She nodded and continued. "Yeah, but now I need to get one from Chat Noir!"

Chloe was passing as Alya said this and scoffed. "Who cares about Chat Noir?" She asked, pausing her daily parade and coming over to us. "Everyone knows Ladybug does all the work. That dork just tags along and messes things up."

"That's not true." Alya replied, scowling at Chloe. "Ladybug and Chat are a team."

"A pretty pathetic one." Chloe snapped back. "Ladybug would be better off without Chat. I mean, he doesn't even _do_ anything."

"You just don't like him because he wouldn't do your homework for you." I snapped, my mood souring even further than it already had.

Chloe crossed her arms. "What do you know, freak?"

"Freak?" I smiled, shook my head and chuckled. "I'm afraid I've been called worse, Chloe. You're going to have to do better than that."

Chloe gasped and looked like she was about to argue with me, but seemed to think better of it. Her mouth snapped shut, her teeth clacking together. She turned and walked briskly away, her hair swishing across her shoulders as she did so.

I snickered and turned back to Alya. "So, you still need an interview from Chat?"

She nodded. "Yeah and then, I'll be that much closer to getting interviews from all three of them!"

"All three of them..?" I repeated, staring at her confusion.

"Yeah, all three of them."

"Ladybug and Chat Noir are only two people."

She gave me an 'are you kidding?' look."Yes, but add in Vixen and you get three people."

My eyes widened just the tiniest bit and I suddenly felt extremely stupid. Not getting any sleep was apparently affecting me worse than I'd originally thought. "But, Vixen doesn't consider herself a hero." I said finally, my head feeling like it was stuffed with cotton. "Why would you want an interview from her? Doesn't she seem like kind of-" I paused, searching for the right word. "Like kind of a jerk?"

Alya shook her head, like she was disappointed with me. "She can't be all that bad."

"But she and Ladybug don't get along at all. They're always fighting. Why would you want someone like to give you an interview?"

"I'm sure there's a valid reason they don't get along." Alya tapped her chin, deep in thought. "It's probably because of what happened with Volpina."

I smiled slightly. As always, Alya had managed to jump to conclusions, but at least this time, her assumptions were right.

"Besides," Alya continued, snapping me out of my train of thought. "Chat gets along with Vixen."

"Chat gets along with everyone." I muttered, rubbed my face and checking the clock. This action only caused me extreme turmoil though. School wasn't even close to being over. "If you ask me, he's the more likeable of the two."

"Oh really? Have you interacted with them enough to know that?"

"Of course!" I replied, then realized what I'd just done and facepalmed, laying my head on the table. "I mean... no, I haven't. He just seems friendlier to me." I peeked out at Alya through my bangs. She didn't look like she completely believed me and I cursed silently, knowing I'd messed up. Not telling people about my alter-ego was turning out to be more difficult than I'd thought it would ever be. Especially when 'people' counted as Alya, who was too smart for her own good and obsessed with figuring out Ladybug's identity. "So, why do you want an interview from Vixen?" I asked finally, hoping to take the attention off of myself.

Alya shrugged. "She seems like an interesting person. Nathaniel told me he saw her laying down in an alley about a week ago. He said she looked like she was crying."

I could feel my face heating up and I looked down, pretending to be going through my bag until I calmed down. "Really? Did he tell you anything else?"

"No, he just told me because he remembered that I wanted to get an interview. He thought I might want to know."

"Ah." I sat up, making sure my spine was straight and my shoulders were back. _Your posture defines you._ "That's interesting."

Alya was watching me curiously and my heart pounded. "Nydra, you always look like you have a steel pole strapped to your spine or something. Are you okay?"

Inwardly, I breathed out a sigh of relief. "I'm fine. I've just had it drilled into me since I was young to always have good posture and such."

"It looks kind of uncomfortable."

"It is," I confessed, folding my hands in my lap.

"Then don't sit like that anymore."

"I _have_ to."

"No, you don't. Your parents aren't here. It's not like they're going to come spy on you at school to make sure you have perfect posture all the time."

"Trust me, Alya. _No one_ is coming to spy on me during school, much less my parents."

"Then, why keep sitting like that?"

"Where is everyone else?" I asked, looking around and hoping she wouldn't notice my abrupt topic change. The glare she sent me told me she had and I sighed. "I'm sorry, Alya. I just don't want to talk about it."

She hesitated, then sighed. "Alright. I think Nino went with Adrian to talk to Mr. Damocles and Marinette wanted some peace to design an outfit."

"Oh." I pulled a notebook out of my bag and started writing, quickly slipping into my fantasy realm and ignoring the real world. The tip of my graphite snapped off and I held the pencil up, staring at it in distaste. As I did so, an idea slowly slipped its way into my mind. "If someone could set up those last couple interviews for you.." I trailed off, watching Alya out of the corner of my eye.

"You know someone who could do that?" She asked excitedly, after what I was implying seemed to click in her head.

I put my pencil down, meeting her gaze. "I happen to be friends with Vixen."

Alya's eyes widened and she grinned. "Girl, why didn't you tell me this earlier? Do you think you could talk her into doing an interview?"

"Of course I can." I replied, resisting the urge to flip my hair and pretend to be fabulous. "I'll talk to her and I'm sure I can convince her to get Chat to talk to you too. Though, that shouldn't be hard considering he's _Chat."_

Alya squealed and lunged at me, wrapping her arms around my shoulders. I tensed and tried to squirm out of her grasp, my skin crawling. "What are you doing?"

"Hugging you!" She replied, squeezing tighter.

"I thought you were attacking me," I mumbled, blushing as I realized how stupid I sounded.

She seemed to realize I was getting uncomfortable because she released me and smiled again. "Thank you, Nydra."

I shrugged, picking at one of my cuticles until a sharp jolt of pain shot through my finger and blood welled up at the wound I'd created. I wrapped the bottom hem of my shirt around my finger and clenched my hands into fists in my lap. "What kind of friend would I be if I _didn't_ try to help you? Besides, it's the least I can do. I owe you after all." The last part came out as more of a mumble that I hoped Alya hadn't been able to hear.

"What do you mean?"

I flinched at the question. "Nothing. Nevermind." _Friendships take a lot more energy than I thought they would._

"...alright."

I could tell she wanted to pry and figure out what I'd meant, but she left it alone and it felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. "We should probably check in." I mumbled, picking up my bag and went to the classroom so I could convince Madame Bustier that I was not, in fact, leaving school early like she thought I was. She looked up as I walked in, trailed by Alya. She went to her seat by Marinette while I sank into mine at the back of the class. Both Alya and Nino had tried countless times to convince me to sit near the front with them, but I still refused to. The idea of sitting up front made me nervous and there was enough stress in my life, thank you very much. The bell rang after a few minutes and I grabbed my bag, slipping out of the room before everyone could form a hoard near the door. Alya and Marinette slipped out after me. "I'll let you know what she decides." I said quickly, stepping away. Alya nodded and let me go, waving. I waved back, then took off, making my way out of the school courtyard and down the sidewalk. Chills crawled up my spine and I looked around, getting the uncomfortable feeling that I was being watched. I shook it off, determining that it was just from all the people getting out of school and slipped into an alley. The heels of my combat boots clomped on the asphalt, making my footsteps sound like an elephant. Or, at least, in my head, that's what they sounded like.

"Do you think Chat will agree to an interview?" Rhys asked, poking her head out of my pocket.

"He's _Chat._ I'd be surprised if he didn't."

"Are you going to do it?"

"Of course I am! All Alya wants is an interview, not my identity. Besides, she's a friend. If I don't do this for her, how else is she going to make it happen?"

Rhys was watching me curiously. "Wow."

"What?" I asked warily. My kwami was usually a lot less vocal about her amazement.

"You consider her enough of a friend to say it out loud."

"Shut up."

"I don't mean that in a bad way." She defended herself as we slid into the house. Rhys phased through the kitchen, grabbing some cashews before we left. "I think it's good."

"How is it good?" I snapped, irritation at her vagueness blooming. I set my bag down, grabbed my keys and closed the front door, locking it behind me.

She phased through the door, scowling at me. "You're finally opening up to people."

"How is that a good thing?" I growled out. "The last person I was close to died."

"Your brother was an anomaly."

I sighed and shook my head, not wanting to get into another argument with Rhys about my brother. "We should go talk to Chat before I forget." At her approving nod, I ducked behind a dumpster and transformed, jumping onto the roof before leaping across town. I pulled out one of my fans and called Chat. It took a few tries, but eventually, he picked up.

"Hey Snowy. What's up?"

I decided to ignore the nickname again. "I need to talk to you."

His voice lost any joking tone that had been there previously. "Alright. Where do you want to meet?"

"The tower?" I asked, already halfway there.

"Got it. See you there." He hung up.

I resumed my journey to the Eiffel Tower, realizing that I'd probably made that entire conversation sound way more serious than it really was. Reaching the structure, I scrambled up it, hopping from beam to beam until I reached the top. A few minutes later, Chat landed next to me. "What did you want to talk about?" He almost seemed wary, making me realize that the story about my first akuma last week had changed how he saw me.

I pulled myself out of my train of thought and smiled at him. "I have a friend."

"What?" Chat said, feigning surprise. "How did you manage that? Did you brainwash this person?"

I sent him a half-hearted glare and smiled. Him teasing me didn't bother me as much as when Ladybug did it. Probably because she wasn't ever teasing. "Yes, Chat, I have a friend. amazing, isn't it?"

He cleared his throat, but the goofy smile stayed. "Sorry, continue."

"This friend of mine, she has a different friend who's been wanting to get interviews from you, Ladybug and I. Apparently she's already gotten one from Ladybug. My friend wanted to help her friend and offered to convince me to do an interview and I told her I'd talk to you about it."

He blinked at me. "You have a friend… who has another friend… and this third person wants interviews from the two of us?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, fur-tunately for your friend, I don't see why we shouldn't do a couple interviews." He said after a minute.

I rolled my eyes at the pun, but smiled at him anyway. "Great, I'll let my friend kn-"

"Trying to turn my partner over to the dark side, Vixen?"

I sighed and turned to Ladybug, trying to plaster a pleasant smile on my face despite the burning hatred in my head. "Sorry to disappoint you, but no. I was just asking him a question. Besides, I don't think he'd make a very good minion of darkness. Too much time spent around your goody-two-shoes, self-righteous persona, I think."

Ladybug glared at me, her eyes narrowing. "Haven't you ever heard the phrase 'if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything all?'"

I hummed in response, before returning her glare. "As always, _Princess,_ you should follow your own advice. Anyways," I stood up and turned back to Chat. "I let you know what she says."

He nodded and I turned back to Ladybug, smirking at her before jumping off the tower. I landed on a viewing platform, making a couple of sightseers jump. Smiling sheepishly and waving, I jumped off again, continuing in this fashion until I got close enough to the ground. I jumped one last time, tucked myself into a ball and rolled into a crouch. A few people standing near the base of the tower clapped and I bowed, despite the fact that I couldn't shake the feeling that they shouldn't be clapping because they probably saw stuff like that everyday. I took off across town, dropped into the alley near the house and detransformed. Pulling my phone and keys out, I unlocked the door while calling Alya.

"Hey, girl! What's up?"

I smiled and closed the front door. "Vixen says she'll do an interview. She just needs a time and place."

"Great! Does later tonight work for her? We could meet near the tower."

"Um… yeah, that works. What time?"

"Around 8?"

"She says she'll see you then."

"Great! I have to go, but tell her I said thank you."

"Of course." The line went dead and I placed my phone back in my pocket, collapsing onto the couch. "Rhys, are you hungry?"

My kwami shook her head and settled on my shoulder, her head nuzzling my cheek. I smirked at her. "Are you sure you're a fox and not a cat?"

Her fur bristled and she shot up, sinking her teeth into my nose. She let go and I rubbed my nose, chuckling despite myself. "You know you love me."

She growled at me and I could imagine her tail tip twitching angrily. Finally, I opened my eyes and watched her. Her arms were crossed and she was glaring at me. "Don't ever compare me to a cat again."

"But cats and foxes are extremely similar. They both have vertical pupils that help them see in the dark. They both have retractable claws and their hunting styles are almost identical." The straight A student in me was shining through. "They both have sensitive whiskers and they're both nocturnal."

"Maybe that's why you and Chat get along."

I stayed silent, mulling that over.

"But you're not much like a fox."

I raised an eyebrow at her. "What is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Foxes may be solitary creatures, but they're also very caring and maternal. You're not either of those things."

I shot up, sending her tumbling to the couch. She floated up to eye level and I glowered at her. "No, I'm not maternal because I don't have kids!" I hissed, my eyes narrowing.

She shook her head and floated away from me. "That's not exactly what I meant, but I suppose that's true."

"I _care_ about people!" I snapped at her retreating form.

She _tsked._ "What people?"

"I care about you… and Alya." I defended, following my kwami to the kitchen. "And as much as he annoys me with his puns, I care about Chat's well-being."

"Three people."

"How many people do _you_ care about?" I hissed, crossing my arms.

She stopped, holding a bag of cashews, like always. "I care about you." She mumbled, refusing to look at me. She sank onto the counter, pulling a cashew out of the bag and holding it out to me. I sighed and took it, gently picking her up and hugging her. "I'm sorry." She nuzzled my cheek again, pausing to shove a cashew in her mouth. I set her down and went through the pantry until I found a can of soup. Heating the soup up became a difficult task as Rhys decided she would try to "help" and soup ended up splashing all over the counter and stove. Some of it even ended up on the ceiling. I surveyed the spots carefully, and moved as a soggy carrot unstuck itself from the mess, landing on the floor with a wet plop. "Rhys, you're not allowed to help me cook anymore." I said finally, grabbing a stool so I could scrub the soup off the ceiling. Luckily, it was still fresh enough that it all came off without a problem, but by the time I'd gotten it all, it was almost eight. I sighed and got down, dumping the soup stained towel in the washer. "Rhys, come on. We have to go." We left the house and I transformed,heading across town.

I made it to the tower at ten after eight and looked around for Alya. Finally noticing her, I ran over and smiled apologetically. "Sorry, I'm late. I had a little kitchen mishap."

She smiled back. "It's no problem. I'm just excited to finally get to talk to you. You have no idea how long I've been trying to get an interview from you and Chat."

My eyes widened. "Actually, now you mention him, I got a chance to talk to him. He says he'll do an interview too."

Alya's grin grew even wider and she was barely able to keep herself from squealing. "That's great! I can't wait to tell Mari!"

"Is this a friend of yours?" I asked, even though I knew perfectly well who Marinette was.

"Mhm! She's the one who got Ladybug to do an interview with me."

My stomach soured. Apparently my whole ' _I'm friends with a superhero and you want them to talk to you so I'll convince them to do it'_ act wasn't nearly as original as I'd thought. Now, I was just like Marinette. Despite my inner turmoil, I forced a smile. "That's great! You must be really great friends with her."

"Well, yes," Alya stopped and sent me a sly look. "But we're here to talk about you!"

Despite my desire to help Alya and be a good friend, the idea of being the center of attention and on camera scared me. My smile faltered and I looked away from her, scratching at my arm. "R-right."

"You know," Alya said suddenly. "Nydra never told me the two of you were friends until today. Don't get me wrong, she doesn't seem like one to go about bragging about something like that, but most people would tell at least one person."

I forced what I hoped was a convincing laugh. "Yes, well, um... the thing is. Well, you see, I wasn't exactly liked in my old home so I asked Nydra not to tell anyone that she and I are friends. Normally, I'd be upset with her for telling someone, but I don't really mind that she told you. You seem okay."

Alya had already started recording. "So, how did you come up with your name?"

I blushed. "I'll admit, I could have been a bit more creative. Um, honestly, it was just kind of the first thing that popped into my head and I was in a hurry, so I just went with it."

"Have you always worked alone or did you ever have a partner?"

"Well... I used to have a partner."

"What were they like?"

"He was... the exact opposite of me. He got along with everyone. He was calm and collected, and he held me back when I wanted to beat people to a pulp. He complimented me, I guess."

Alya nodded. "What was his name? Did you know each other outside of your hero lives?"

"Yeah, we did actually. We just trusted each other enough with that information, I suppose. I won't tell you his civilian name, but his name in the mask was Lepus. It's latin for rabbit." There was a blur of movement in the corner of my eye and I whipped around, staring at the space I'd seen it in. I blinked and my breath caught in my throat. This couldn't be happening right now. I forced myself to breath, my chest feeling tight.

"Vixen?"

I turned back to Alya, plastering on a smile. "Let's continue, shall we?"

She hesitated, her eyes flicking between me and the spot I'd been staring at. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just thought I saw something." I forced a chuckle. "Sorry, I'm a bit jumpy. I was worried it was an akuma."

Alya didn't look completely convinced but shrugged and continued questioning me. The rest of the interview blurred together in my head as my thoughts raced. Why was I still seeing my brother after all this time?

* * *

Two figures stood in front of a butterfly decorated window a dark room. One was clenching their fists, while the other paced back and forth.

"You said she would stop after you implemented your plan!" The first one yelled, the form shaking with barely controlled anger.

"I didn't think she'd move to another country, much less France!" The second yelled back, teeth grit. "You think I would've done what I did if I'd known she would just leave everything and move?"

"Fix it!" The first one screamed.

"How?" The second snapped, eyes narrowing dangerously. "Kill her?"

The first paused, his argument dying in his throat. "She wouldn't be a problem anymore if you did."

The second mulled that over, torn. Kill her? Would that be wrong? No, he'd just be doing her a favor. After all, who wanted to live in a world where everyone you cared about was brutally ripped away from you? She'd understand why he'd done it one day.

 **wulf2.0: I'm sorry.**

 **RavenDeathGirl0909: Thank you!**


	6. Chapter 5

**Ah, it's been almost a month since I updated this. I'm sorry. I have no excuse. I just didn't feel like writing. Also, I probably should have said this earlier in the story, but better late than never, I suppose. This story is going to be darker than the show. Trigger warning for mentions of mental illness/disorders, suicidal thoughts/tendencies and death. To the reviews!**

 **ayakachapman: Yay! I was honestly a little worried about putting it into the chapter.**

 **wulf2: once again, thank you. Not remembering what you said is my fault. I should really try to update more often.**

 **Loooooveee: Thank you.**

 **To the story!**

"Are you sure about this?" Chat asked, watching me uncertainly.

I nodded. "Paw-sitive."

He eyes lit up. "Did you just-"

"Yes, I did. Now, come at me."

"This should be interesting." Ladybug said, reclining against the raised edge of the roof we were on. "Where did you get this idea again?"

I blushed, not wanting to admit I'd gotten the idea from _Mulan._ "I saw it in a movie."

"And you needed my yo-yo just to tie your blade to Chat's staff?"

"Yes, Ladybug. Because in the movie, the villain has a sword, but since none of us have one of our own, I improvised."

"By tying one of your fan blades to Chat's staff?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, we've established that."

"And the point of this is to see if you can get the blade stabbed through your fan so you can close said fan on the blade and get it away from Chat?" She clarified, sending me that disapproving look she always had when she talked to me.

I sighed. "Yes, that's the plan."

"How did you even manage to break the blade off your fan? Aren't those things supposed to be indestructible?"

"I can manipulate them," I replied shortly. The truth was, I wasn't sure why I'd been able to break the blade off my fan but they were magical and regenerated, so I wasn't worried about it. "Now, Chat. Let's go. And don't hold back."

He still didn't look completely convinced. "You're absolutely sure about this?"

I nodded again. "Do I need to say the pun again?"

"No."

"Good, because I wasn't planning to anyway."

"Are you really-"

"Chat, just go."

He sighed and lunged towards me, the blade slicing through the air towards my neck. I positioned my fan so it would catch the blade and snapped it closed as soon as the material was pierced. Twisting my fan away from Chat, I watch as the string of Ladybug's yo-yo came loose and the blade was wrenched off the staff. Chat stumbled and I dropped my fan, catching him and falling myself. We ended up as a tangle of limbs and I was fairly certain his elbow was jamming into my ribs. "Ow." He muttered, trying to get up. "That didn't work."

I sat up, rubbing my ribcage and shook my head. "It didn't work at all. I think you're on my tail by the way."

He jumped up and backed away so my tail wasn't anywhere near him. Ladybug was laughing hysterically. "That failed so miserably!"

I scowled, embarrassment causing my face to flush. "I'm sure had it been an actual sword, it would've worked," I mumbled, staring at my lap. A hand appeared in my vision and I took Chat's hand, allowing him to help me up.

"It was a great idea." He reassured me, though it sounded more like he was trying to convince himself. "The execution could've been better."

"Clearly." Ladybug interjected.

I tore my hand out of Chat's and pushed past him, storming up to Ladybug. Despite the fact that she was sitting down, causing me to tower over her, she simply looked amused. "I'd like to see you do better!" I snapped, crossing my arms.

She smiled condescendingly at me. "Anything you can do, I can do better."

"You wanna bet?"

She stood up, matching my glare with her own. "Sure."

Chat jumped in between us. As usual. " _Enough!"_

I blinked, surprised at his angry tone. "But-"

"Hush!" His eyes narrowed at me and I clammed up. I'd never actually seen Chat mad before, so this was bizarre to me. "Chat-" Ladybug stopped as Chat sent her a glare. She looked away from him, almost seeming like a different person. "Now," He started, looking back and forth between us. "I understand that the two of you don't trust each other and while I don't agree with that, I think you both have valid reasons for it, but you can't keep trying to tear each other's throats out every time you interact! M'lady," He focused on Ladybug, who looked thoroughly daunted. "I realize that you had a bad experience with Volpina, but Vixen isn't Volpina. It may not always be easy to get along with her, but she's not going to betray us to Hawkmoth."

"But she-"

"Is not Volpina." Chat repeated, once again subduing his normally rash partner. "Vixen," He turned to me and I steeled myself. "You know how the enemy thinks. I understand that that is because you have a different outlook on life than we do and you interpret things differently, but it might be a little easier to trust you and get along with you if you weren't so-"

"Tempestuous?" I offered.

"Yes."

"I don't think that's possible, Chat. This is Vixen you're talking to." Ladybug muttered. Blood boiling, I took a step forward, intent on throwing her off something. The tower, maybe. She'd probably just catch herself with her yo-yo, but it would make me feel better for a little bit.

"Hey!" Chat pushed me back and sent Ladybug an irritated look. "That's another thing. The two of you can't constantly insult each other like that! Say one nice thing about each other!"

"Now?"

"Yes! Right now."

Ladybug looked me up and down with distaste and I did the same, wondering what I could say. "I suppose your lucky charm is pretty useful," I muttered, crossing my arms. I heard Ladybug scoff. "I guess you're pretty good at coming up with strategies." She bit out finally, looking away from me.

"See. Now, was that so hard?" Chat asked, still looking like he was ready to hold one of us back from hurting the other.

"Yes." Ladybug and I said in unison.

He scowled. "You two are impossible."

Before either of us could answer, the ground rumbled, shaking the building violently and throwing Ladybug and I off our feet. Cracks appeared at Chat's feet and spread out from him, the roof quickly crumbling under him. I dove forward and grabbed his wrist before he could fall out of my reach. Ladybug crawled over, keeping her distance from me. "Grab his other arm," I growled, feeling myself slipping towards the edge. She latched onto her partner's free arm and we pulled him onto a more stable part of the roof.

"Where did-"

"Probably an akuma." I interrupted, standing up even though I half expected the roof to spasm and throw us off again.

"Well obviously!" Ladybug snapped.

"Let's go." I jumped off the roof and started towards the source of the quake before I could hear her reply.

* * *

"Well, this is just wonderful," I growled, picking my way over boulders and pointing them out to Ladybug.

"Oh be quiet." She muttered, tripping over a rock. "It could be worse."

"How could it be worse?" I asked though I knew she was right. It could be a lot worse. I wasn't sure what exactly had happened to Chat, but when we'd tried to call him, his line had suddenly gone dark like he was in trouble or had transformed back. Because he and I could see in the dark and he wanted Ladybug and me to get along better, he'd said he'd go scouting alone and had forced us to work together. Now, he was trapped somewhere and Ladybug and I had no choice but to cooperate long enough to find him. I pulled myself out of my train of thought. "I'm stuck in the dark with you and you're invading my personal space."

"You can worry about your space bubble later, primadonna. Let's just find Chat and get out of here."

 _Ah yes, brilliant thinking, Chat. Now we want to tear each other's throats out in a dark tunnel._ The quiet rumbling made me freeze and I felt Ladybug move past me. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. "Ladybug, move."

"Scared of the dark, Vixen?"

The rumbling grew louder. How could she not hear it? "Ladybug, I'm serious. You need to move."

"Vixen, whatever you're trying to do, it's not working. You'll have to do better if you want to distract me."

With a crack like thunder, a chunk of the ceiling dislodged itself and plummeted towards Ladybug. I dove forward, shoving her out of the way and tripped. A rock dug into my side and I pushed myself up before the ceiling could turn me into a pancake. I was forced to an abrupt halt as the chunk of concrete crashed to the ground and looked over my shoulder. "Fantastic," I grumbled sarcastically.

"Vixen? Are you okay?"

Irritation shot through me. "Oh yeah, I'm just great. You know, I just told you to move and instead of trusting this one time, you were difficult and now the stupid ceiling fell on my leg!" I assumed that I couldn't feel the pain due to shock. Or maybe my leg was just so messed up now, I wasn't ever going to feel it again. _Paralysis, that's just bloody wonderful._

"You're hurt?" She yelled and shot towards me. She stopped, scowling. "I can't see anything."

"Not my problem," I growled, trying to pull my leg out from under the chunk of concrete. Pain shot up my trapped limb and my breath hissed out through my teeth. I froze, gritting my teeth to keep the stream of profanities in. "Nevermind, I can feel it."

"Your leg? You couldn't feel it before?"

"No, but I can now."

There was a long silence and then Ladybug asked hesitantly, "Vixen, how did you know the ceiling was going to break?"

"My hearing is significantly better when I'm in the mask," I replied, narrowing my eyes at her even though she couldn't see.

"It's what you were trying to warn me about.."

"Yes, this is exactly what I was trying to warn you about," I snapped. "But because you're stubborn, you refused to listen to me _just this once_ and now we're stuck here!"

"You pushed me out of the way."

"You're welcome. Had I not, you would've been turned into a red and black spotted pancake!"

She seemed to miss the barb in my voice because she didn't snap back at me like I'd expected her to. "You put yourself in danger to save me."

"Yeah, well, I didn't do it for you," I replied hoarsely, my voice coming out a lot more bitter than I'd intended. Her quiet, shocked voice was bothering me. "Let's hope Chat isn't in a similar situation otherwise we're all screwed."

"Did someone call for me?"

"Chat!"

He jumped down, landing on the chunk of concrete on my leg. I bit my tongue until it bled, resolving to not swear like a sailor around the pair. "Chat, that's not a good place to stand," I growled when I felt like I could open my mouth without screaming at him.

He looked at me in confusion then his eyes widened as he realized what I meant and jumped off. "I'm so sorry, Vixen! I didn't realize-"

"It's fine." I interrupted. "You couldn't have known. Help me out."

He wedged his staff under the concrete slab near my leg and pressed a button so it extended. I dragged myself out from under it and gestured for him to let it fall again. The slab crashed to the ground with a resounding thud. I pushed myself to my feet, leaning heavily against the wall when my leg refused to hold my weight.

"Vixen, do you need-"

"I'm fine," I said quickly, putting my weight onto my functioning foot and tried to hold onto the last shreds of my dignity as I hobbled back the way Ladybug and I had come. "Let's go. There's still an akuma to defeat." I pushed my way past a boulder, then realized neither Chat nor Ladybug had followed me. "Are you two coming? Or are you just passionately making out and don't want me to see?"

"Vixen!" Ladybug shrieked, her voice reaching an octave I was pretty sure it hadn't ever reached before. "You know that I-"

"Want to keep things professional. Yes, I'm aware." I muttered, ignoring the rest of her fuming and listening to make sure they followed me. Finally, sunlight filtered through the rocks and we made our way to the surface. Despite the fact that we were no longer trapped underground, the bright sunlight and singing birds bothered me. I limped over to a tree that was somehow still standing and plopped down. "Okay, so maybe I'm not fine." Complete silence followed this statement and I looked up, finding both Chat and Ladybug gaping at me. "Don't the two of you have a villain to defeat and reform?" They stood still for another minute then jumped away, tracking the quakes. I waited until they were gone, then gently prodded my leg. Pain shot up it again, but I hoped it was only sprained or tweaked out of place. I didn't have time to deal with a broken leg at the moment. I suppose _no one_ really ever had the time to deal with a broken limb, but I was fairly certain it would seem like too much of a coincidence if I broke my leg as Vixen and showed up at school as Nydra with the same problem. I tried wiggling my toes, slight pain going up my leg as they did. So, I could still move them, it just hurt like hell. _Hopefully, it's just a really bad sprain. I'm not sure if it'd be accurate if I checked right now. Though you aren't supposed to be able to walk on a broken leg or foot and I limped here. I hope limping counts as walking._

I got up, resuming my limping and made my way to the nearest hospital. Red magic streamed past and I knew Ladybug had just fixed everything. Detransforming in the alley behind the hospital, I stumble into the waiting room and to the front desk. "H-hello." My voice sounded rough, but I smiled at the woman behind her computer.

She looked up, her expression quickly morphing from one of indifference to one with wide-eyed concern. "Darling, are you alright? What happened?"

I bit my tongue to keep from snapping that no, obviously, I wasn't okay if I looked haggard enough to elicit such a reaction from her. "My leg got caught under some rubble. I'm not sure if it's broken or just sprained."

"Stay right here." She replied, getting up and rushing through a door that I knew led to the operating rooms.

"Not like I have much of a choice," I mumbled once she was out of earshot. She came back through the door a few minutes later with a man who looked like a doctor following her. She frantically gestured to me and I placed my hand on the desk to support myself. This was all turning out to be very dramatic.

The doctor walked over to me and gestured for me to follow him. "How did you get this injury?" He asked once we were in an operating room. He sat in a chair, watching me as if I were some priceless artifact that he couldn't risk breaking.

I collapsed into a chair across the room from him. My ankle was now screaming in pain. "My leg got caught under some rubble. My ankle hurts."

"Your ankle?"

I nodded. "My whole leg hurt before, but now it's just my ankle."

He sighed, got up and came over to me. He held out his hand and it took me a minute to realize that he wanted to help me up. Stubbornness reared up again and I pushed myself to my feet without his help, crossing my arms defiantly. He simply shook his head and led me to an x-ray room. I laid down how I was instructed to and closed my eyes, feeling exhaustion beginning to catch up with me.

"Done."

My eyes snapped open and a snide voice in my head scolding me for letting my guard down. "Is it broken?"

The doctor shook his head. "It's just sprained. You're very lucky though. If you had walked on it much more, we might have needed to immobilize it."

"Aren't you supposed to do that anyway?"

"Yes, but I meant that it would have been much more extensive. A splint will do for now. Once the swelling has gone done a bit more in the next few days, you'll have to wear a brace."

 _I can handle that._

The doctor helped me up and led me to a different room, where a few minutes later, a nice elderly lady did my splint and patted my head as I was leaving. She smiled in what I imagined was a motherly way at me, told me to "be more careful" and handed me a small tin of caramels. I smiled at her, mumbled a "thank you" and got the painkillers the doctor prescribed before making my way out of the hospital. It was finally quiet again and dark now too. I looked around, taking a deep breath and exhaling after a few seconds. "Rhys, how are you?"

She stuck her head out of my pocket. "I'm fine. I thought your ankle was going to be broken."

"So did I," I replied, prying open the tin of caramels. I handed one to her and she took it without a moment's hesitation. I popped one in my mouth and closed the tin. "My ankle still hurts," I stated, my mind seeming to be stuck on that fact.

"I would hope so." My kwami muttered. "You just sprained it. I'd be worried if it didn't hurt."

We made it home a few minutes later, stumbling into the house. "Nydra, you should call Chat."

"Why?"

"He'll be worried about you since you disappeared."

"I'll do it tomorrow. I'm sure he'll live that long." I tested the splint and decided to leave it on until tomorrow. "Are you hungry?" My stomach growled quietly as if reminding me that I had more than a kwami to keep fed.

"Isn't it a little late to eat?"

"I was thinking soup. That's light."

"Sure." She yawned and phased through the kitchen wall. I found her laying on the counter.

"You're not allowed to help cook it."

"I hate you."

* * *

Hawkmoth paced back and forth. He'd been so close! Ladybug and Chat Noir's miraculouses had practically been in his grasp! His hands were clenched into fists and he was having a hard time containing his temper. "You had one job!" He yelled suddenly.

His underling strolled out of the shadows, a scowl etched into his features. "Everything went according to plan, Hawkmoth. I got what I wanted."

"You wanted her to be pinned under a slab of concrete!?"

"No, I wanted to test her morals. As much as she tries to deny it, she's still that weak, goody-goody I grew up with."

"You said you were going to kill her," Hawkmoth growled, his eyes glowing purple. He honestly didn't care what happened to Vixen, but he'd been promised results and having her around was making getting the miraculouses that much more difficult.

"I will." His companion replied, completely indifferent. "I want to break her first."


	7. Chapter 6

**So, once again, it's been awhile. I'm sorry, but I have finals coming up and I've been trying to decide where to go next with this story. I know what I want to happen, I'm just trying to decide if it's too early to make it happen. To the reviews!**

 **firstiwilleatthesebeans: Thank you!**

 **Wulf2.0: It's what I do best after all.**

 **To the story!**

"Where have you been?" Chat asked, his eyes wide.

"I sprained my ankle really badly. The doctor said I needed to stay off of it for at least a week." I replied, positioning my tail so part of it rested on my lap. I don't know why, but it always made me feel better. "I figured 'stay off it' meant don't go out and battle akumas every other day."

"It's been two weeks." Chat growled. "You just up and disappeared! I was worried!"

"I didn't mean to worry you," I mumbled, genuinely meaning it for once. "Hey, has Ladybug said anything?"

"You mean, about the fact that you pushed her out of the way of a falling chunk of concrete?" He asked, crossing his arms. "She's mentioned it. She's still trying to figure out why you'd help her. Take a hit for her, I believe were her exact words."

"Well, I didn't save her to get her to like me. I didn't do it for her or for you or for anyone else. I just did what I thought a _hero_ would do." I hated that word. _Hero._ What made someone a hero? Couldn't normal people do incredible or meaningful things without needing to be dressed up for the public?

"I wouldn't call us heroes." Chat replied, eyeing me as if he expected me to run off.

"All of Paris calls you a hero," I argued, my voice coming out extremely bitter. "They think you and Ladybug are so wonderful. They don't ever stop to consider that you're both human and have lives outside of this or emotions other than those they see on TV." Chat shifted from foot to foot and it was then that I realized I gotten myself onto an irrelevant tangent and was rambling. "Sorry," I mumbled, forcing my breathing back to normal.

"It's fine." He peered at me curiously. "Is that really how you feel about it all? That we're all just a bunch of people who are out of our element and others are taking us for granted?"

"I never said the out our element part, but the taking for granted part is true. Those people wouldn't know what to do without you."

"And what about you?"

I scoffed. "They don't pay enough attention to me to take me for granted." The silence stretched on and I realized I'd probably made a fool of myself. I sighed and got up. "I should probably get home. See ya, Chat."

"What about your ankle?"

"It should be fine. As you pointed out, it's been two weeks." Of course, it would be better if I didn't have to hide it at school, but my paranoia had won over my logic. I jumped away and made my way home. Looking around to make sure no one was around, I detransformed and went inside.

"I told you he would worry," Rhys grumbled.

"I didn't disagree with you," I replied, pulling my math homework out and finishing off the last few problems. "All I said was that calling him could wait."

"And then, you never actually called him."

I shrugged. "He had Ladybug. He was fine." Before she could argue, I put my homework away and made my way to my room. "Lights out, Rhys. Come on." She phased through the wall and plopped onto her makeshift bed on the shelf. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." She replied, drifting off and I followed soon after.

" _Nydra!"_

 _I looked up from my homework, ready to snap at whoever was being a distraction this time. When I saw who it was, however, I shoved my work to the side of my desk. "Sock!"_

 _He slowed, blushing at the nickname. "I got you s-something." He mumbled, hiding whatever this item was behind his back. "Guess which hand."_

 _I surveyed him carefully, looking for some small detail that would tell me which hand he could have something hidden in. I wasn't overly concerned with it, considering it was a fifty-fifty chance, but even incorrectly guessing small things such as this were hard to live down with my brother. "Left," I said finally._

 _He pouted and held up his left hand. Resting in it was a woven black bracelet with silver markings on it. "It might be a little big…" He reached towards me and dangled it between two fingers._

 _I held my hand out and gently took it, inspecting the thing. While I wanted to say something meaningful, my eight-year-old mind couldn't come up with anything better than, "It's pretty."_

" _Do- do you like it?"_

 _I nodded and slipped the bracelet onto my wrist. "Thank you."_

 _He smiled and flung his arms around me suddenly. After a moment of shock, I returned the hug. He pulled away and booped my nose. "I should let you get back to your homework."_

 _I shook my head. "No, it's fine. I can finish it later."_

 _He didn't look convinced. "Are you sure?"_

 _I nodded then looked around, a strange scent tickling my nostrils. "Do you-" But Sock was gone. The school yard melted away, being replaced by a cluttered storeroom. Suddenly, I was my normal self, no longer a young child. I stood up and looked around, heart racing as I realized the smell was smoke. "This can't be happening."_

 _I made my way out of the storeroom and looked around, already anticipating what was going to happen. Just because I knew it was going happen didn't mean I was prepared for it though. I picked my way around the flames lapping at the walls, watching as the fire got brighter as it progressed. Something latched onto my ankle and I jumping, screaming. The body let go of my ankle and struggled to its feet. It shambled towards me, its arms outstretched. I stepped back until my back hit a wall and stared at the creature, part of me screaming at me to move, but I was rooted in place. The bloody hands closed around my throat and the face cleared enough to reveal my brother. Only, it wasn't quite him. His face was expressionless and his eyes were cold. His grip tightened and I struggled to breathe, trying to pry his hands off me. He adjusted the position of his hand and my vision blurred._

" _You're worthless." He growled out, his expression remaining cold and apathetic. "I don't know why I ever wasted my time with you."_

 _Tears welled up in my eyes, partially due to the lack of oxygen and partially due to his cruel words. "Nico, please.."_

 _The fire crept closer, the heat making breathing even more difficult than before. The flames engulfed us, but as far as I could tell, it didn't bother my older brother. This wasn't the case for me. The fire spread over me, but my voice seemed frozen in my throat. Cold eyes stared into my soul, holding me in place._

I bolted up, a strangled scream slipping out of my throat. Rhys popped awake, her wide eyes locking onto me. I was trembling and I curled into a ball, throwing my blanket off. Tears pressed against the back of my eyes and I shook with silent sobs.

"Nydra. It was just a dream."

I ignored her, my stomach churning. My head was buried in my hands. After a while, I forced myself to stop and sat up. Still sniffling slightly, I took a deep breath and got up. I went to the bathroom and splashed water on my face, before getting water. Done with my coping, I turned the light off and went back to bed.

"Nydra, are you-"

"I'm fine." I interrupted my kwami, not wanting to discuss it. "It was just a dream. I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Goodnight."

"...goodnight."

I laid down, pulling my blanket up to my chin. I stared stubbornly into the dark, not wanting to admit to my kwami that I really wasn't fine. I understood why she was worried, but my dream didn't mean anything like she thought it did. I'd always had doubts growing up about what kind of person my brother was. I knew no one was perfect and he certainly hadn't tried to make me think otherwise, especially with himself. I closed my eyes and practiced the breathing techniques I'd learned as a child, before drifting off again.

* * *

Hawkmoth was pacing again. His companion watched him, his dead eyes following the purple-clad villain's movements. There had been plenty of people who'd gotten upset the night before because of their night terrors, but these apparently weren't good enough.

His stomach growled. He looked at his midriff, wondering if getting food was worth the effort. "I'll be back." He said simply, getting up and walking towards the stairs.

"Where are you _going?"_ Hawkmoth yelled after him.

"Maybe you've forgotten what's it like to be a normal human, but I haven't. I'm hungry." The blond replied, closing the door behind him and cutting his boss off. He made his way across town and looked around. He supposed he could ditch his costume for an hour or so and just be normal for a bit. He wasn't sure if he could do that though and he didn't want to risk losing his powers. His fingers tapped against his arm as he thought. Where could he go that people wouldn't freak out about his appearance? Probably nowhere with how infatuated everyone was with Ladybug and Chat Noir. If he wasn't careful, some amateur reporter would think he was some new hero and parade him in front of a camera for all of Paris to see. That wouldn't help him lie low at all.

Almost on autopilot, he made his way across town, dropping into an alley. He walked over to the house he was looking for, his mind wandering as he performed the scanning exercises that had become second nature to him. The lights were all off, but that was normal. Even when the person who occupied this house was home, she liked to be in the dark. Maybe it helped her get away from her problems or maybe it was more comforting to her. He didn't care, but it made it harder to figure out when she was actually home. He heard footsteps making their way to the door along with a voice that kept getting louder and he jumped up to the roof.

He watched as she walked out, speaking hurriedly into her phone. "No, Alya, I haven't heard from Marinette." There was a pause. "Because she doesn't _like_ me."

Nydra huffed as she locked the front door and slipped some cashews into her hoodie pocket for Rhys. "Alya, I may not like people, but I'm not _oblivious._ I can tell when someone doesn't like me." She fumbled with the key and swore softly, crouching down to pick it up. "No, she's not just upset about something I might have done. She genuinely doesn't like me."

He blinked and chuckled, keeping his voice low. "You haven't changed a bit." _Still just as blunt and tactless._

"No, Alya, it _is_ that simple. Marinette and I just aren't going to click the way you want us to. Bless her heart, but-" Nydra stopped again, her expression gradually growing confused. "It's _not_ a southern thing to say. Everybody says that." Another pause. "I do not talk funny."

Cautiously he slipped across the roof and jumped to the next one, following her. She stopped and whipped around, but he was already out of sight, silently cursing himself for not being stealthier.

"Whatever Alya. Where did you want to meet?" The conversation lulled again. "I don't know where that is. No, just give me a landmark and I'll find it." She began tapping her foot against the pavement as she waited. A few moments later, she stopped. Her voice sounded too eager to be real. "Great! I'll see you there then." Yet another pause. "Of course I'll be able to find it! Have _a little_ faith in me, honestly. Okay, bye~"

She disappeared around the corner of the alley and he jumped onto the roof of her building. Prying open an unlocked window, he slipped inside and made his way to the kitchen. He rifled through the pantry, trying to find something she wouldn't notice if a bit went missing. Finally, he pulled a package of crackers and a bottle of some sparkling water drink that she liked out and looked around. He'd never actually been inside the house before. Now seemed like as good a time as any to explore.

He slowly moved around the house, careful not to move anything out of place. He didn't want her knowing he'd been there. He found himself wandering into the living room and gently prodded the furniture. _Nothing like the stuff back home. Probably sold it to get a plane ticket and start fresh. It was a good idea. Too bad it didn't work out._ He made his way back to the kitchen and went through the cupboards. "She doesn't seem to be taking the best care of herself. In what world does she think _this_ will keep her healthy?" He pulled a paper bag from its place on the counter and glared at the muffin within in disgust. He shuddered, practically able to smell the sickening sugar scent rolling off it. He wasn't exactly sure what kind of muffin it was, but anything that smelled _that_ sugary sweet couldn't be healthy. "Honestly. These are terrible life choices."

 _Focus!_ He put the bag back and left the kitchen, his mind spinning. _It doesn't matter what life choices she's making. Soon, they'll just be a legacy of bad decisions._

He scoffed and left the house completely, reminding himself to keep his priorities straight. He couldn't get any more involved in this than he already was. _Soon, this will all be over._


	8. Chapter 7

Hawkmoth paced back and forth across the room. He'd been doing that a lot lately. If it were witnessed by any outsider, he'd probably seem like a caged cat, though it certainly didn't help that he occasionally growled to express his growing frustration. He stopped, an idea taking root in his mind. "Nooroo."

The room was briefly filled with light as he transformed into his normal self and a tiny kwami floated in front of him. "Yes, master?" The kwami's wings drooped and he sounded defeated.

The man smiled. "All miraculous wielders have kwamis like yourself, correct?"

Nooroo's voice was barely audible. "Yes, master."

"And the wielder can't transform without their kwami?"

The purple moth-like creature simply nodded, his despair rolling off of him in waves.

The man smiled. "Dark wings, rise." Nooroo was sucked back into the brooch and soon, Hawkmoth was strutting towards his window. "This is going to be fun."

He knew what he was going to do. He just needed someone to act through.

* * *

"Tell me again why you're straightening your hair." Rhys yawned and watched me from the soap dish in the shower.

I sighed and set the straightener down long enough to unpin the top layer of my hair. "I don't know. I just felt like doing something different, I guess." While my hair wasn't extremely curly or wavy, it was just enough that it was obvious when I straightened it. Or, at least, it would be if people actually paid attention to my existence. I pushed the thought out of my mind and continued ironing my hair into submission. "What do you think?" I asked, about ten minutes later once I was done.

"It looks nice," Rhys replied, but I could tell she wasn't really paying attention. Suddenly, her eyes widened and she shot up. "Akuma."

"Fangs out." When I opened my eyes, everything was more in focus and I snuck out the back door. No sooner had I made my way up onto the roof, then someone decided to call me. I grabbed my fan and answered the call, realizing for the first time how awkward talking into a fan must look to other people. "Hello?" I sing songed, pushing the thought to the back of my mind.

"Vixen, where are you?"

"Patience is a virtue, Ladybug." I chided the red and black clad superheroine. "Tell me where you are and I'll be there in just a bit."

"Do you know where the stadium is?"

 _Is any sort of stadium really that hard to find?_ Of course I knew where the stadium was. Alya had dragged me there just a few days before when I'd asked her how she'd started her blog and gained an interest in Ladybug. "Yeah. See you there." I hung up before she could respond. Getting there only took a few minutes, but by the time I arrived chaos had unfolded. Things had been smashed to pieces, Chat was distracting the villain while Ladybug tried to sneak around him. I jumped down to the ground and joined Chat in being a distraction.

"Finally able to join us again?" He asked, feigning annoyance.

"You didn't think I was going to sit back and let you have all the fun, did you?" I replied playfully, extended a fan and twisting it until it formed a circle. I threw it and watched as the villain dodged. "Has he gone on a monologue yet?"

"No."

"Damn. That's usually their undoing."

Chat blocked a hit and I jumped back, focusing on the situation instead of making sarcastic comments. Suddenly, the villain glowed and split into multiple copies of himself. Ladybug wrapped her yo-yo around one of them, but was flung forward as the copy grabbed the wire and yanked it towards himself. Chat stopped and pouted. "That's not fair."

I smiled. "Don't worry, I can do that too." At curious looks from both Ladybug and Chat, I took a deep breath before shooting, "Phantom!" We were suddenly surrounded by multiple clones of myself. They both gaped at me. "Have you never seen me do this before?" They shook their heads and I shrugged, directing my clones to engage those of the villain's. "Well, now you have. It's like lucky charm or cataclysm."

"Are there any other powers we should know about?" Ladybug asked in exasperation.

"Um… I can scream like a banshee." I replied slowly. A stunned silence followed my statement and I sighed. "It's actually not as weird as it sounds. It's based on this scream that foxes do when they're trying to warn each other of danger." Before they could ask anymore questions, I dove into the battle. Maybe it was just me, but the fight didn't seem too take that long or be very taxing. Soon enough, Ladybug had pinned the real villain and found his akumatized object. She broke it, released the akuma and began cleaning up. Despite the damage being repaired, I had an uneasy feeling in my gut. "Is it just me or was that too easy?"

Ladybug stopped. "What do you mean?"

"He didn't put up much of a fight." I stated bluntly. "It was almost like he _wanted_ to be defeated. Like he was just a distraction or something." Before I could elaborate, my choker beeped. My hand flew up to it and I smiled sheepishly. "I'm afraid I have to bid you both adieu." I made my way out of the stadium and got a good distance away before another beep sounded. Ducking into an alley, I detransformed and caught Rhys. Her eyelids drooped and I pulled a few cashews out of my pocket, handing them to her. "Am I just being paranoid?"

She shrugged, barely paying attention to me. "You humans are weird. You might just be being paranoid, but on the other hand, you might be right about the villain being a distraction."

I scowled. "That doesn't help my nerves at all."

"Your gut feeling may be right or it could be your paranoia. I can't control that. I'm not going to sugarcoat things for you, Nydra."

"Oh, believe me, I've figured that much out," I grumbled back, knowing my kwami wasn't going to lie just to make me feel better. Soon, however, she was zipping along in front of me and I knew she had her energy back. The feeling of dread wouldn't leave the pit of my stomach and eventually, I stopped walking. My gaze was locked on my feet and my hands were clenched into fists at my sides.

"Nydra?" Rhys floated back to me as we came to a side street. Almost seeming apologetic, she settled in the pocket of my hoodie. "Are you okay?"

"I don't know." I mumbled after a minute, trying to sort out the feelings raging in me. My thoughts were a mess and I couldn't help but feel like something was about to go horribly wrong. A strange, almost warm wind suddenly gusted down the street. Almost instinctively, I gently placed my hand on my pocket. "Rhys, I'm scared." I confessed quietly to my kwami, my shoulders suddenly sagging.

She stuck her head out of my pocket and nuzzled my hand, her eyes filled with concern. After a minute, her grip on the inside of my pocket tightened and her eyes widened. "Nydra-" Whatever force was pulling on her seemed to become stronger, because she sank her claws into my hoodie, but she started to slip away from me. I reached down and grabbed her, bringing her close to me. Suddenly, she was forcibly phased through my hand and she flew backwards down the street. I took off after, though as the speed at which she was being dragged increased, it became painfully clear that my efforts were futile. I reached out to grab her, but she was suddenly jerked upward out of my reach. I skidded to a stop and watched as my kwami was pulled, screaming towards a dark entity on the roof of a building a block or so away.

* * *

Hawkmoth watched through Clepta's eyes as a kwami was placed in a silvery cage. He scowled as he found that it wasn't Ladybug's kwami like he'd hoped it would be. He'd even take Chat Noir's kwami at this point because it seemed that Ladybug would do anything it took to get her partner back. Maybe that was where he needed to strike next.

The purple clad villain left his puppet alone and began pacing again. He turned to his spotted companion. "Go make yourself useful."

The young man rolled his eyes at the order, but got up and made his way to the exit anyway. He wasn't entirely certain _why_ he was still working with Hawkmoth, he was fairly certain could accomplish his goals on his own.

He shook his head and started across town. Now wasn't the time to be questioning whether he'd made the right decisions or not. Maybe he hadn't, but he couldn't take any of it back now.

Clepta jumped when he joined them on the roof. "Who are _you?"_ This villain wasn't Hawkmoth's most impressive choice or creation. Of course, the outfit was based on what a stereotypical robber would wear, so maybe the man hadn't had much to go on. Clepta's outfit consisted of dark jeans, a black shirt, and a long trench coat. _No black ski mask?_

 _Great, another snobby one. Oh well, this probably won't take long._ "Your new boss sent me to help you." Yes, this one was definitely not a keeper. He supposed that technically speaking, none of them were, but this one seemed especially disappointing.

"I don't _need_ help!"

"Suit yourself." He turned and left. He wasn't going to argue. Hawkmoth had told him to make himself useful and there were other ways of doing that.

* * *

I paced back and forth along the edge of the sidewalk, biting my lip. I needed to help Rhys, but no matter what, my mind was coming up blank. _I hate not having Rhys! I can't do anything when I'm stuck like this!_

I supposed I could go to the building that the villain had seemed to make their base, but that was stupid. _Without Vixen, going in there would be dangerous. What am I supposed to do like this? Sass the villain into submission?_ I scoffed as the idea came to mind and continued with my pacing, tapping my arm as I did. I knew enough about hand to hand combat and pressure points that if I got close enough, I might be able to do minimal damage, but that still seemed stupid. _Maybe I should just sit this one out and let Ladybug and Chat deal with it? No! That's ridiculous! I can't let whether I'm in or out of the mask determine when I fight and when I don't._

 _This is so stupid! I'm just going to march over there and deal with this my way._

The walk took longer than I thought it would, the only reason being that there were a lot of people trying to get away from the villain. Items in danger of being stolen had changed from kwamis to anything shiny or valuable. Coming up to the building the villain had et to move from, I made my way inside, wondering how villains got anything done if their security was so lax.

 _Honestly, if I were a villain, I would win._

Sneaking up to the roof, I crept behind the villain, looking around. My eyes landed on a silver cage near the edge of the roof. A small, fluffy form was banging on the bars and trying to squeeze through them. Rhys looked up, saw me and her eyes widened. I quickly put a finger to my lips and moved behind the villain, crossing my arms. "You know, you should really get some better security." The villain jumped and turned to glower at me. I remained silent, hoping my poker face was convincing.

"Excuse me? Did Hawkmoth send you to ' _help'_ me like the last one?"

"Tch. As if." I snapped, rolling my eyes. "Hawkmoth wouldn't be able to handle the likes of me. Anyway, we were talking about your security detail. Or should I say, lack thereof?" I took a small step back to evaluate this latest villain as a whole. I couldn't tell their gender for certain and admittedly, I was a bit uncomfortable with the idea of asking. I decided to just leave alone and not assume anything. _The outfit could use some work._ "Are you supposed to be some sort of bigshot thief? Honestly, I'm not impressed."

This led to a few minutes of sputtering and offended looks being shot at me from the villain and I examined my nails, allowing them to try and process everything. Finally, I sighed and looked them up and down again. "What's your name anyway?"

Another shocked and slightly annoyed look. "Clepta."

"That's latin for thief." I said excitedly, clapping a little. "Brilliant." A humanoid form landed on the roof behind Clepta and it took me a moment to realize who it was. Chat extended his staff and knocked the trenchcoat-wearing villain to the ground. Ladybug dropped onto the roof a minute later and began searching Clepta for their akumatized item. I crossed my arms as the cat themed hero came after to me. "Took you long enough."

* * *

Chat stopped short, watching this girl carefully. Of course, he knew who she was and that her sarcastic antics weren't exclusive to him. They barely talked when he wasn't Chat Noir, even if it was only because she could be a bit too abrasive for him. Both Alya and Nino liked Nydra though, so he tried to get along with her. She seemed nice enough, when she wasn't talking to Chloe or about Ladybug.

His eyes slid over to his partner with uncertainty. Did Ladybug know how much Nydra seemed to dislike her? How could she? He shook his head and turned his attention back to the blonde. "What were you thinking?"

"I thought it was pretty obvious," She sighed heavily and he wondered for a brief second if she was being dramatic just to spite him. "But I figured I'd distract this one long enough for the two of you to get here."

"That was really dangerous. You could have gotten hurt."

She didn't quite roll her eyes, but she came close before she looked away. That was when he noticed bruises and cuts all over her arms and shoulders. "You did get hurt!"

She looked at him like he was crazy, then examined herself. "Oh, that's nothing. My cat got me. I don't know where the bruises came from, but that's nothing new." Her gaze drifted past him to Ladybug. "It's a good that you two didn't get your powers taken away. That would have been a disaster."

She sounded a little sarcastic, but there was a certain gleam in her eyes that made him wonder if she meant to sound so sardonic all the time. Red rushed past them and soon buildings were being fixed, while stolen items were returned. The fox looking kwami was out of its cage now and floating away, he assumed to go find whoever Vixen was when she wasn't in the mask.

Nydra sighed. "Well, you saved the city. As always. See ya." She turned and left the roof, the door closing loudly behind her.

 _So much for trying to be more open._


	9. Chapter 8

**This chapter is a little bit shorter, but I've been wanting this to happen for a while now. Now we learn why Chat and Vixen gave each other a chance. To the reviews.**

 **wulf2.0: As always, thank you.**

 **To the story.**

"Look, kid, I don't know why you think otherwise, but I'm not a hero," I growled, trying not to show my fangs too much. I'd found out the hard way that they made people uncomfortable. "And I already told you, I don't do autographs."

"Please?"

I sighed. This kid just didn't get it! "I said no."

His entire body seemed to droop sadly and he sent me puppy dog eyes.

"Hey, that's not fair," I argued, feeling my resolve beginning to crumble. "The guilt tripping face isn't fair. Stop that."

Fat tears began welling up and I grit my teeth. _Crocodile tears, that's all they are._ Unfortunately, I made the mistake of looking at the kid again. _Damn it, kid._ I sighed dramatically, some small part of me hoping that over exaggerating my irritation would make the kid leave. "Fine."

The tears vanished and were replaced by a luminous smile that could rival the sun's brightness. He dug around in the pockets of his jacket before handing me a pen and what seemed to be nothing more than a flimsy piece of paper. I took both and found that the paper was actually a picture of a silver fox. Despite my annoyance with the kid, I couldn't help smiling at the picture. "I'm glad _someone_ realizes I'm a silver fox."

He sent me a perplexed look and I sighed. "Chat Noir calls me 'Snowy.' It's a nickname, obviously, but it comes from him thinking I'm an arctic fox."

The kid's expression soured. "How could he think you're an _arctic_ fox? There are obvious distinctions between an arctic fox and a silver fox. Arctic foxes are completely white unless of course, it's summer. How could he-"

"What's this? Vixen interacting with a child civilly?" Chat asked, jumping down between the kid and I. "I never knew you had it in you, Snowy." He playfully punched my shoulder and I rolled my eyes at him.

The kid's eyes narrowed dangerously at Chat and without warning, he began kicking the cat themed hero in the shins. "How could you think she's an arctic fox?" Chat made a noise like a squawk and jumped back in surprise, trying to dodge the enraged child's kicks.

Trying hard not to laugh at the sight, I gently grabbed the kid and pulled him back. "Now, now," I chided, "No attacking Chat Noir."

"But you're not an arctic fox! It's obvious that you're a silver fox!"

"That's an issue he and I will have to work out later." I held up the yet to be signed picture. "What's your name?"

"Austen."

"That means majestic, doesn't it?" At his nod, I scribbled out a quick message with a flourish, then held the signed picture out. "Why'd you want an autograph anyway?"

He seized the picture and held it close. "I've got show and tell tomorrow at school. Now I can brag to all my friends that I got your autograph!"

Some strange, yet warm and fuzzy feeling spread through me. _He wants to brag about an autograph from me?_ An idea slowly formed in my mind and I smiled at him, hoping I looked almost kind and not creepy. "I'll do you one better," At his questioning look, I continued. "I'll come in for your show and tell tomorrow."

Austen's eyes widened and he gaped at me like I'd just revealed that I was planning to give him the biggest and best Christmas present. "Really?"

I nodded, suddenly feeling much more confident with my idea. "Just tell the time and place."

Another bright smile. "Solomon Academy at 10:30."

I mentally filed the information away and tried another smile, this one small to hide my fangs like all the others. "Got it." I tentatively reached out and patted his shoulder. "You should probably run along, kid. We wouldn't want your parents to worry about you." _I'll have to call in sick to school tomorrow._

He looked a little sad to leave, but reluctantly nodded and shuffled away from me. "Bye Vixen."

"See you tomorrow, kid." I waved and saw him brighten up just enough to wave back. I waited until he was out of my sight then turned to Chat. "I'm sorry he kicked you. It was _a little_ funny." I pinched my index finger and thumb together leaving the smallest of spaces in between them. "Only a little though."

* * *

"Chat, can I ask you something?"

We'd made our way to the Louvre and were sitting on the roof of one of the neighboring buildings. The patrol had turned into a conversation and then just sitting in silence. It was kind of nice.

He hesitated just the slightest bit, then nodded. "Sure."

"Why did you give me a chance?"

His confusion became clear in an instant. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not stupid or oblivious, I know Ladybug doesn't like me. I also know that while it's sort of because of Volpina, it's partially my fault. I know I'm rude and stubborn and I don't act very nicely to either of you. I know it would probably help if I set aside my pride for once and tried to be friends with her, but I can't help it. You're not like her though. I'm a jerk, but you still gave me a chance and try to be friendly. You defend me when Ladybug gets out of hand and I haven't really done much for you. So, again, why did you give me a chance?"

He stayed silent for a long time, so long I started to wonder if I'd said something wrong. Finally, he shrugged. "Everyone deserves a chance, don't you think? You may not be the easiest person to get along with, but you've shown me that you can be kind. Just because being friendly and trusting isn't your first instinct doesn't mean you can't be that way ever. I think it's good that you have a different perspective on this whole 'hero' business than Ladybug and I do. Just because you're different than us doesn't make you evil."

"Ladybug doesn't see it that way," I mumbled, wringing my hands.

"She'll come around." We were silent again until "Actually I've been meaning to ask you a question."

"Shoot," I replied, mentally preparing myself in case this turned out to be like last time when he'd asked about my first akuma.

"It's sort of like your question actually." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Why did you give me a chance? I can tell you don't like my puns and that you're not the type to get close to people unless you have to, so... why?"

I bit my lip and looked at my lap. Okay, so this wasn't as bad as I'd thought it would be. Unfortunately, while our questions had been the same, my answer so nowhere near as noble as Chat's had been. "Do you want the honest answer or the one that makes me sound like a better person?"

He looked a bit taken back by this question. "The honest one, obviously."

I took a deep breath. "You remind of a friend I had when I was a kid."


	10. Chapter 9

"Why can't you just trust me?" I yelled at Ladybug.

She sent me a glare that would've made the grim reaper run from her in terror. "You haven't given me a reason to!"

"Pushing you out of the way of a falling chunk of concrete isn't enough proof that I'm not going to betray you?"

"One time that you've done something even remotely heroic doesn't make up for everything else!"

"Everything else?" I repeated, a little miffed at both the phrase 'heroic' and her continued opposition to me. "What has 'everything else' been? Not bending to your will? Having a mind of my own? Not seeing you through rose tinted glasses like everyone else in this damn city?"

"Rose tinted-" She shook her head. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"I'm so sorry I don't treat you like a goddess. Is that what you want me to do?" I growled sarcastically. "Sorry I don't treat you like you're perfect like every other person in Paris. That must be such an inconvenience for you."

If it were possible, her glare turned even darker. "Do you think I _want_ them to treat me like I don't make mistakes? I know I'm not perfect!"

"Could've fooled me," I muttered. _Little miss goody two shoes._

"I can't believe you actually pinned the akuma victim to the ground!" Ladybug snapped, dragging me out of my thoughts. "Did you have to flash your fangs like that? Were the claws really necessary?"

I bristled at that. "Excuse me for taking a different approach when yours didn't work," I replied coldly. "Sometimes asking nicely doesn't work."

"That doesn't mean you have to resort to acting barbaric and scaring the daylights out of them!"

"It's not like I _hurt_ the poor girl."

"She was bleeding!" The red and black clad heroine glared at me.

"The wound wasn't very deep! Besides, you did lucky charm and it went away, so I don't see the problem." Briefly, I wondered if Ladybug had a problem dealing with blood, but shrugged the possibility off as she continued her lecture. Had she changed back to her normal self then fed her kwami and changed back to Ladybug just to hunt me down and yell at me? The thought made me smirk, an odd sense of pride going through me. Did I really infuriate her enough to make her want to track me down at inconvenient times?

Chat jumped down between us, sending both of us disappointed looks. "Seriously? I leave for five minutes and you're back to arguing already? Do I need to set up a round the clock supervisor for the two of you?"

Ladybug scowled. "It's not an argument if one party doesn't talk."

"Hey, I'm just letting you say everything you have to say. It wouldn't be very polite of me to interrupt, would it?" I wasn't sure why, but that seemed to vex her further. Her eyes blazed and I tried an innocent smile when Chat sent me a look that screamed 'really?' Honestly, he should've been happy I'd kept my mouth shut, otherwise, his 'lady' would've been called a few choice words and then some.

"This has gone on long enough!" Chat snapped. "I don't care how you do it, but the two of you need to work this out."

"But Chat-" I argued at the same time Ladybug practically screamed, "What about Volpina?"

I bit my tongue to keep from snapping at her again. Why was my being a fox still such an issue? Hadn't I proved that I wasn't like Volpina? Was she really so afraid of the very unlikely chance that I'd betray her? Had I done something other than show up as a fox -which I had no control over- to earn such burning hatred and suspicion? Shaking my head, I stepped away from them both. "You're being ridiculous."

Paris' favorite heroes stopped their argument long enough to send me curious looks. "What?"

 _At least she knows I was talking to her._ I shook my head again. "It's funny. You honestly think I'd work with someone like Hawkmoth and you don't even know how he's destroyed my life. He's a horrible person."

This seemed to catch Ladybug's attention. "Why do you take the akuma attacks so personally?"

I stiffened, my mind going blank. _Personally?_ Did I take the attacks personally? I didn't think so. "We're supposed to prevent the akumas, aren't we? What you two do is reactive, not proactive. It certainly hasn't been very productive either. I don't take anything Hawkmoth has done personally." _Except killing my brother, but you don't need to know about that._

"You seem to be more affected by them than we are." Ladybug continued, clearly having gotten a new idea of what she might be able to use against me.

"If the two of you want to keep waiting for Hawkmoth to make the first move and eventually mess up, I won't stop you, but I'm trying something else." I turned and started away from them.

"Vixen, wait!"

I stopped, sending Chat a questioning look.

He stepped forward then seemed to realize that was a bad idea and stopped. "You can't go after him on your own. Let me come with you, at least."

"And separate you from your _wonderful_ partner? I think not. No, I'll be fine by myself. We both know I work better alone anyway."

"Going after him on your own is suicide!"

I shrugged. "I don't care."

"Vixen-"

"Chat, let her go. If she wants to put herself in danger, let her. Maybe she'll learn a few things."

I rolled my eyes. "Thank you so much for the words of encouragement, Ladybug. I don't know what I'd do without you." I turned and walked away before either of them could respond.

* * *

"I could always go out and take care of her before she gets here."

Hawkmoth stayed silent, contemplating his companion's offer. He didn't really want some hero to come crashing in and try fighting him. After another minute of thinking, he shook his head. "She'll recognize you. It's not worth the risk."

Fortunately for the young man, Hawkmoth missed the 'you're an idiot' look that had been shot at him. "So you're going to just let her find us?"

"She doesn't know we're here. Even she does manage to find us, it will take time."

The silence stretched between the two of them, the tension becoming thicker as more time passed. "Let me fight her."

Hawkmoth sent his companion a shocked look. "What?"

"Give me your miraculous so I look like you. I'll fight her."

It was silent for a long time after that. Finally, Hawkmoth smirked and chuckled. "You know, you're not quite as useless as I thought."

"Glad to be of service." Came the cold reply.

* * *

"Now, if I were a supervillain with a butterfly theme, where would I be hiding?" I mumbled, mentally checking off each part of the city as I searched it. Of course, I wasn't _exactly_ sure what I was looking for, but at this point, I'd take anything that seemed even slightly out of the ordinary. "Honestly, how hard is it to find a villain? He's modeled after a goddamned butterfly."

"Moth." Rhys corrected, floating around me.

"Not the time," I growled back, wondering how I could've messed up so badly that I wasn't to find the _one_ supervillain in the city. _Maybe I'm not looking in the right places._

"I still think storming away from Chat and Ladybug was stupid. You could've gotten them to help you."

I took a deep breath and held it to keep from snapping at my kwami. "They're perfectly content to wait until he makes the first move. I am not." _Their approach has done nothing but create a status-quo where they idle about, waiting for Hawkmoth to make a move, which they then counter. This leads to a slow, unending war with no real stakes that annoys me to no end._

"I've noticed." She replied, breaking my train of thought and pausing both her floating and pestering. "You should've at least accepted Chat's offer."

"I'm not dragging someone else into this. Hawkmoth hasn't torn their lives into pieces the same way he has for me."

"And how do you know that?"

"I asked." A white blur flashed in my peripheral vision and my eyes darted to the side. _What was..._ "Rhys, fangs out." Once the transformation had completed, I got up and started chasing the thing. As it flitted along a roof, I jumped and pounced on it. Carefully lifting one hand, I peered at a small, white butterfly. _Well, that was unexpected. It looks like the akumas after Ladybug purifies them. Could it be one of them? Where would it be… No. There's no way all of this is that easy._ "It couldn't be going back to him," I told myself, cupping my hands against the ground and trapping the butterfly again. "Why would it be doing that? He probably wouldn't need it to return to him." I sent the thing a wary look and considered my options. _This is the first lead I've gotten in almost a week. I can't just throw this out the window, can I?_ Cautiously, I released the butterfly and waited for it to get back in the air and get its bearings before following it.

"Why butterflies?" I muttered. "Why not 'follow the spiders?'" Spiders would've at least crawled straight to their destination. Butterflies, however, seemed prone to frolicking around and following every gust of wind. "I don't have time for this," I grumbled, ready to swipe the butterfly out of the air and see if screaming at made it fly any faster.

 _You don't have much choice other than to be patient._ A snide voice in my head whispered.

Eventually, the butterfly ended up leading me towards a building near the edge of town. The building itself seemed to be made out of ivory colored bricks and had vines growing up the sides. I turned, looking around. I could see the Eiffel Tower not far away. _Seriously? It took me nearly two weeks to find this place and it was this close the entire time? I'm losing my touch._ I watched as some panels retracted into the building, revealing a window that -just as expected- looked like a butterfly. A dark form flew out of it. I squinted to get a better look -though I assumed it was an akuma. Pulling out my fan, I quickly called Chat.

"Vixen! Where have you been?"

"That's not important right now. There's going to be an akuma."

"How do you know?"

 _How do I- Are you serious!?_ "Because I found Hawkmoth's lair and I just saw him release an akuma. I don't know where it's headed, but there's an upset person somewhere and they're about to cause havoc. You need to take care of it."

"You're... not helping?"

"Goodness no. I was just giving you a heads up. Now, I have a bug to catch."

"Vixen, you can't-"

I hung up and started towards the building. Making it to the side of the building, I clawed my way up the vines and balanced on a ledge below the window. Once I was under it, I jumped and grasped at the bottom of it, pulling myself up and slipped in. It took my eyes a minute to adjust. It was dark inside and there were butterflies fluttering all over the room. I could just barely hear the sound of them flapping their wings. A soft chuckle came from a corner of the room across from me and I settled into a defensive position, holding a fan out.

"I've been waiting for you."

I stiffened, the hair on the back of my neck standing on end. _Waiting for me? How could he have known I was coming at all? Damn it. Not the surprise attack I was hoping for then. That's okay, I can work with this._

The man I'd come to associate with everything wrong with my life stepped into the light streaming in through the window and…

I was disappointed.

Truthfully, I'd been expecting... something else. He seemed almost laughable. I tilted my head to the side, trying to figure out what to do. Mostly my mind was filled with what improvements I would suggest about this man and his costume. Nothing much. Changing the color scheme. Making the whole thing armored. Getting rid of the cane. And maybe the gloves too.

The necktie pin was okay, I guess.

Dark magic glimmered in his hand and somehow, I found myself not caring. "Who are you going to victimize next? Fashion? Oh wait, what am I talking about? You've already done that." It wasn't until his eyes widened, the magic in his hand disappeared and he gaped at me that I realized I'd spoken out loud. I gasped and slapped a hand over my mouth. _And I'm pretty sure I just royally screwed myself. Wonderful._

He rushed at me and I dodged a blast of magic, trying to keep a fan between the villain and myself. I extended it and fastened it into a circle before throwing it. It bounced off a wall and would've taken Hawkmoth out, had he not used his cane as a bat at the last second. I ducked as the fan came back and dodged another attack. _He's playing cat and mouse._ I scowled, picking up my fallen fan and threw it again. _I refuse to be the mouse._ Forcing myself to focus, I waited on the tips of my toes and as a wave of dark energy surged from Hawkmoth, I dove under it, tackling him to the ground. His cane came out of his grasp and clattered to the ground a few feet away. I slammed one arm against his throat and held him there, taking a moment to catch my breath.

For a minute, I thought I'd gotten him.

Until a sharp pain exploded in my side and I looked down. He'd grabbed the fan I'd thrown at him and stabbed me with it. The silver fabric of the top of my suit was rapidly darkening with blood. I watched as the liquid dripped onto Hawkmoth's fingers, a cruel smile spread on his lips. "Even after all these years, you still can't beat me."

What?

He drove the fan further in and I fell back, too shocked to scream. He stood over me now, smirking. "You heroes always lose in the end. With how often you told Ladybug she wasn't being smart about fighting me, I'd figured you'd at least bring her along with you." He sighed and shook his head as if I'd disappointed him. "It doesn't matter now. It's not the miraculous I wanted, but it's a start." He leaned down then, his hand going for my throat.

Something in me finally burst my shock bubble and I pushed myself up, effectively surprising Hawkmoth and making him stumble back. Without sparing him another glance, I turned and darted out the window. About halfway down the vines, my hands slipped and I slammed into the pavement. I coughed, forcing air back into my lungs before they could take it and pushed myself back to my feet. I had to get away from here. It didn't matter where I went, as long as I didn't run into anyone on the way.

Blood was still flowing from the wound when I made it out of town. My hand was covered in it and the bottom half of my top was red instead of silver. I assumed the only reason I hadn't passed out yet was because I was still transformed. Almost as if the thought had called her, I was suddenly surrounded by a bright light and my kwami appeared in front of me. "Nydra! Oh my god, we have to get you to a hospital!"

I shook my head, my ears ringing. "They'll ask what happened."

"We'll tell them you were mugged! Nydra, you have to go!"

I shook my head again, this time with less force. "We're nowhere near…" I stopped, clinging to a lamp post to keep myself upright. "Nowhere near a hospital."

"And who's fault is that?" She snapped, crossing her arms. My vision swam and I didn't answer. "Nydra?"

Suddenly, the world spun, my grip on the post slipped and I could feel myself falling, but it was almost in slow motion. "Nydra!" Everything went black.


	11. Chapter 10

**Y'know before the Volpina episode came out, Ladybug and Vixen were actually going to have a decent relationship. They weren't going to best friends or anything, but it would have been a lot different from the relationship they have now.**

"You should really be resting."

I rolled my eyes, finishing my current set of sit-ups and ignoring my kwami for the time being. _44, 45, 46, 47, 48…_ Pain shot up my side and I froze momentarily, breathing deeply to ease said pain before continuing. _49, 50._ "Done." I got up and grabbed my water, swallowing a few mouthfuls.

"Great. Are you going to rest now?"

I shook my head, draining the last of my water. "Can't Rhys. I haven't finished my workout."

Her eyes bored into me. "What else could you possibly have to do?"

"...mountain climbers," I replied after a moment of thought. "But first, water." I moved towards the kitchen and refilled my glass. "Besides, I need to stay in shape."

"You wouldn't have to worry about working out every day if you'd just transform and be vixen again." Came the snappish reply.

I stopped, sending my kwami a cold look. She simply crossed her arms and glared back at me. "It's not happening, Rhys. You said that I needed to just be normal for at least a month to heal properly."

"It's been three." She hissed, her eyes narrowing at me. "I know what this is really about."

"Do you?" I asked, refusing to look her in the eye. _There's no way she could know._

"You're scared."

I froze. _How the hell did she-_ I shook my head and sent her a glare. "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."

Rhys raised an eyebrow at me, skeptically. "Alright. Tell me then."

"Tell you..?"

"Tell me you're not afraid. Right now. Say it."

 _Are you serious?_ I crossed my arms. "I don't see what that would prove."

"You're proving my point right now."

"I-" I stopped, a sort of dread forming in my stomach. I _wasn't_ afraid. I didn't have anything to be scared of. "I'm not-" A lump formed in my throat and I forced myself to breathe. _Why is this so hard?_

"Nydra?" I Felt her tiny paw on my cheek. "Nydra, it's okay to be afraid. You can't have courage without fear."

I snickered. "That's the most cliche thing I've ever heard."

"You are afraid. Why?"

I bit my lip, hoping my kwami wouldn't notice that my indifferent facade was crumbling. "I needed their help."

Rhys stayed silent while I gathered my thoughts.

"I needed help when I went to face Hawkmoth. I-" My breath caught in my throat and I took a few deep breaths before continuing. "I couldn't do it on my own."

"And that scares you?"

I nodded, some sort of helplessness blooming in my chest. "I hate relying on others, Rhys, but how am I supposed to do everything on my own if I genuinely lack the ability to?"

She didn't reply for a minute. "Maybe it's time to go back? Let people help you?"

I grit my teeth, feeling tears start to slip down my face. "Ladybug probably had a field day when I didn't show up after going after Hawkmoth."

"I don't think you've given her a fair chance. Of course, she didn't give you one either, but you should be the bigger person."

"I can't just show up after disappearing for three months. Plus," My shoulders slumped and I wrapped my arms around my stomach. "What if something happens again?"

"Bad things happen. You can't just sit on the sidelines in the hopes of avoiding them, that's not how life works."

"I know," I replied quietly. "I just-"

"Refuse to rely on anyone other than yourself." Rhys finished.

I nodded slowly, wondering when I'd started feeling so unsure of myself. "It makes it kind of hard to work with others."

She snickered at me. "Yes, and your _wonderful_ personality has nothing to do with that."

"Rhys... what do you say we go on patrol?" This earned me an excited nod from my kwami and I smiled slightly. "Alright, fangs out." Once the transformation was complete, I made my way outside and jumped onto the roof. _Stay calm. You can handle this. There's no akuma to fight and you're not trying to run away from someone. You're fine._

Taking a few deep breaths, I ninja-ed my way across town, finally making it to the tower. I stayed put for a minute, catching my breath and looking around.

 _I don't see anyone other than the tourists. That's a good thing, right?_

Chills went up my spine and I looked around again. Pushing my intrusive thoughts to the back of my mind, I began my climb. It wasn't long before I was at the top of the tower and I glanced down, taking in the scenery and how small everyone seemed. _They look like ants._

"And here I thought you were gone for good."

I flinched at the voice, then turned to face her, heaving a dramatic sigh. "It's good to see you too, Ladybug."

She didn't reply for a while, simply staring at me. I couldn't tell if it was hate or surprise on her face. "Chat was really worried about you, y'know."

"I... didn't mean for that to... happen," I replied, deciding not to comment on how she hadn't mentioned how she'd felt about my disappearing. _You didn't honestly expect her to worry, did you?_

No, I hadn't. Why would she care about what happened to me?

 _Give her the benefit of the doubt._

I grit my teeth to keep any snide comments in.

"I'm sorry!" I blurted out.

Ladybug looked shocked. "For what?"

Ah yes, because _that_ was so much better than sarcastic comments. "For…" I wrung my hands, knowing I couldn't backtrack now. "For not giving you a chance."

Now she just looked uncomfortable. "Well... I wasn't any better. It was wrong of me to judge you based on what Volpina did. I- I should have given you a chance."

 _That_ was surprising. I hadn't been expecting an apology. "It probably would've helped if I hadn't been quite so…" I paused, searching for the right word. "Dark and conniving."

"Just a little."

We fell into silence and I fiddled with my hands, unsure of what to do now. "Hey, can I try something?"

* * *

"How do you manage to do this?"

"You have to hold the string tightly."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious."

Ladybug didn't reply beyond an eye roll for a minute. "Don't fall again."

"It's not my fault Spider-man made it look so easy," I grumbled, trying desperately to cling to the string of Ladybug's yo-yo. She'd agreed to let me try hanging upside down from it, but now I was beginning to feel like a fool for trying in the first place. After a few more tries and painful falls, I sat up, pouting. "Stupid comics."

"It takes some practice."

I continued to pout, only partially ignoring her.

"Vixen-"

I sighed. "Yes, I _suppose_ you're right."


	12. Chapter 11

**I know, I know, it's been a month. I'm sorry. I'm in the middle of moving and school has been stressful. I will try to be quicker next time. To the reviews.**

 **stopeatread: Has it come across that I'm trying to ship Chat and Vixen? I'm going to have to fix that. I really wasn't trying to make their relationship anything other than platonic.**

 **To the story!**

Flowers were blooming and leaves had started to grow again. The beauty of the city in spring had been the topic of conversation at school for the past few days. I, however, barely noticed it as I followed Ladybug away from the center of town. "One more time!"

"You've tried a hundred times already!" She replied, turning to me. "And you can't get it."

"Just one more try," I repeated. "I swear. Just this last time and I'll stop bugging you."

"Was that supposed to be a pun?"

I stopped, replaying what I'd said in my head until I found the offense. "No, but it wouldn't have been a bad one if it had been intentional."

She stayed silent for a few minutes, possibly trying to determine how much effort it would take to make me leave her alone. Finally, she sighed heavily and held out her yo-yo. Eyes lighting up, I reached for it, only for her to hold it back as she gave me a pointed look. "One more time." I nodded and took the yo-yo eagerly.

"I'm gonna get it this time," I vowed, unwinding part of the wire and throwing it so it wrapped around an outcropping part of the roof.

"I'm sure you will," Ladybug replied sarcastically.

I tugged on the yo-yo just enough to launch myself forward and flipped. Once I'd managed to get myself situated, I stuck my tongue out at her. "I told you I'd get it." Feeling myself slipping, I repositioned my hands and tightened my grip. After another minute or so, an uncomfortable pressure started to build up in my skull and I squeezed my eyes shut. I knew it wouldn't _really_ help with the blood rushing to my head, but now that I'd finally gotten this stupid hanging upside down thing done, I refused to stop.

"Your face is turning really red."

My eyes flew open and if it was possible to jump while hanging upside down, I did that too. Unfortunately, this caused me to lose my grip on the yo-yo and I crashed to the ground. Grumbling, I glared up at the newcomer. "What the hell Chat? I was finally able to do the stupid thing and then you-"

"Scared you?" He finished, a teasing smile playing across his features.

I scowled at him. "No. You didn't scare me." I sat up, brushing imaginary dirt off my outfit. "You startled me. There's a difference."

"Right." He held out a hand and I begrudgingly took it. He effortlessly pulled me to my feet. "Well, either way, I'm sorry."

"You should be," I muttered, though now my annoyance was mostly for show.

* * *

"You said you took care of her!" Hawkmoth bellowed, gripped with the sudden urge to break something.

"I said I injured her," The young man in front of him replied. "I would've loved to take care of her in the sense I'd been planning, but she ran like the coward she is."

"I suppose cowardice runs in the family then?"

He stiffened, his eyes narrowing at the man he called a partner. "If it bothers you that much, why don't you go after them yourself?"

"What would be the point of keeping you around if I did that?" Hawkmoth's voice was cold as ice. "I will give you one more chance."

"What if I don't want it?"

Pain exploded in his chest. He doubled over, gritting his teeth to keep from crying out at the burning sensation. After a few more minutes, it subsided, leaving him crouched on the floor trembling.

"One more chance."

He swallowed, trying to ease the burn that had reached up to his throat.

"Now go away."

He was gone before Hawkmoth could change his mind.

* * *

"Unicorns or jedi?"

"Which team were you again?"

"Unicorns," I replied, balancing on the edge of the roof. "Narwhals are the unicorns of the sea."

"I didn't expect you to pick the unicorn team. For anything." Ladybug commented. "Be careful."

"I'm fine," I replied, noting how my voice took that defensive tone it always did when I said those two words. "Besides, if I fall, you get to say 'I told you so.'"

"For once, I'm not sure I'd want to be able to say it."

I turned to her and feigned a touched look. "Aw, Ladybug! You do care!"

She rolled her eyes at me. "Jedi of the sea sounds cooler." Chat interjected.

I scoffed. "Fine. Ladybug, what do you think? Unicorns or jedi?"

"Hmm," She tapped her chin. "I'm gonna have to go with jedi."

"The one time I needed you on my side!" I sent her a disgruntled look. I shook my head at her and crossed my arms. "Honestly, I don't care how cool 'jedi of the sea' sounds, based on historical events, I still say they're the unicorns of the sea."

"Historical events?"

"People used to sell narwhal tusks as unicorn horns." I explained, "It started with the vikings. Queen Elizabeth I was given a jewel-encrusted one by…" I paused, trying to sort through the mental folder of random facts I knew. "Sir Humphrey Gilbert."

They both stared at me for a minute, as they didn't know how to respond. "Why do you know that?" Ladybug asked finally.

I shrugged. "I don't know. I stumbled across while studying one day."

Ladybug shook her head, smiling slightly. "What am I going to do with the two of you?"

"You could always date Chat," I replied cheerfully.

"Vixen!" They both yelled, their faces red as tomatoes.

I snickered at them and went back to my balancing act. "Y'know, I really think the two of you should just give a relationship a chance. I mean, come on Ladybug, do you honestly think you're going to find someone as devoted to you as Chat? He's clearly mad for you." I reached the edge, pivoted and started back the way I'd come. "Of course, any idiot with eyes could tell you that. I'm just saying if I had someone so entranced with me-"

Chat sprang forward and for a moment, I thought I'd gone too far and he was about to do something violent. I stiffened and took a small step back, lifting my arms to protect my face. He simply grabbed my upper arm and tugged. I resisted until he shot me a dirty look and said, "Duck."

Now, when most people said ' _duck,'_ I either ignored them or expected to have water squirted in my face via a squirt gun. Normally, I'd simply crouch a little even when Chat said it, but this time was different. He genuinely looked worried, even a little scared, so the moment the word left his mouth, I dropped like a stone.

Something exploded near Ladybug's feet and even though she'd already started to move away, she jumped up and scrambled away from the resulting cloud. Despite the fact that the projectile had been overshot, trying to move had just put her in danger. With that in mind, I crouched even lower to the ground and tried to peek around. It didn't seem like anything else was going to be shot at us, but something about that cloud of powder Ladybug had run away from seemed familiar.

I stood and moved to turned to the source, only to freeze as the assailant spoke.

"Well, well, what's this? Vixen playing nice with others? I never thought I'd see the day."

Everything in me screamed to turn and face this threat, but my mind was on lockdown because I knew that voice. _It can't be. He's dead. There's no way this is real._ My heart had magically turned into a jackhammer pounding against my ribs, my breathing was forced.

"Vixen... you know him?" Chat asked hesitantly.

I nodded numbly. At their shocked faces, I took a deep breath and turned to face him. "Lepus."


	13. Chapter 12

**So, I would've said something about this last chapter, but this got to the ending a lot sooner than I thought it would, so... last chapter! Don't kill me. To the reviews.**

 **K2: I really wasn't trying to make a ship for them plausible, but I suppose I can't really stop you all from shipping characters.**

 **To the story.**

Another pouch was thrown at us and it took me a second too long to process this. I dove to the side at the last moment, feeling some of the powder hit my foot. It immediately went stiff and immobile. He smirked at me, his eyes shining with a deadly mirth. "You've gotten slow, little sister."

"Sister!?"

"How are you alive?" I asked, purposely ignoring both Chat and Ladybug.

"Oh, you haven't figured it out yet? Too bad." He shook his head as if I'd disappointed him. "I've been alive for a while now. Did you really think it was Hawkmoth you fought?"

Some sort of yawning black hole of dread had formed in the pit of my stomach. "That... That was you?" The more I thought it, though, the more it started to make sense. He was the only one who could have known enough about me to taunt me the way he had and make the comments he'd made. "How could you work with Hawkmoth?" I asked, stubbornly holding back tears. "Mom and dad wouldn't want this!"

His face darkened and his eyes narrowed dangerously. "Well, they can't exactly speak up now, can they? And it's all your fault."

"H-how?" I managed to ask, though my mind was going significantly slower than usual.

"I never told you?" I shook my head and he shrugged. "Well, better late than never, I suppose. They were on their way to the hospital. You were always such a fragile baby. They were taking you to see the doctor and then that damn semi driver rammed into them. So, while you were strapped safely in the back seat, mom went sailing through the windshield and dad got most of his ribs broken."

I didn't think I could feel more agitated until he opened his mouth again.

"It should have been you." He jumped a few rooftops until we were only a street apart, but it felt like thousands of miles. "The only reason I was always so protective was to keep us from going to grandmas. You know how senile she is."

 _Crazy old bat._ The words came to me like they were grandma's actual name, but they weren't _my_ words. They were _his._

He jumped across and some part of me that wasn't numb forced me to take a step back. This only made him smirk even more. "You always caused so many problems for mom and dad. I couldn't let you do that to anyone else."

I grit my teeth and backed even farther away, my paralyzed foot dragging along.

"You didn't honestly think I did it for _you,_ did you?"

A single tear slipped down my cheek and he frowned, disapproval rolling off him in waves. He reached forward and I flinched back, tensing as he wiped the tear off with the pad of his thumb. He shook his head. "I thought I taught you not to cry in public."

Suddenly, something wrapped around his arm and jerked him back. Ladybug let her yo-yo unwind from his arm, but kept enough of the wire out to spin it in case she needed to. Chat stepped in between us, his staff held out in a defensive position. "Vixen, are you okay?"

My usual response of 'I'm fine' started to come out, but in that moment, I clammed up and simply stared at the man I'd called my brother. Some part of me had gone numb to the outside world and refused to allow itself to thaw. My mind was drifting, drifting to a time when I wasn't so cold and empty.

" _Nydra. Hey, look at me."_

 _I looked at the brown haired boy in front of me. He was always there. Why was that? Why was he still here? Why stick around? What had I ever done to deserve such steadfast loyalty?_

" _Nydra. I'm right here, okay? You're going to be fine."_

 _What was I breaking down over this time? Had I gotten a less than satisfactory score on some test and now, Nicholas was mad at me? I couldn't remember it exactly anymore._

" _Hey." He was closer now, trying desperately to help, whether he knew that it was futile or not seemed irrelevant. "Are you okay?"_

 _It was then that I noticed just how green his eyes were. So very, very green. Almost too green, like someone had sucked the color out of everything else to put there instead._

"Vixen!"

I jumped, my eyes coming back into focus. It wasn't a childhood friend in front of me this time. Chat was watching me carefully, almost despairingly. "Are you okay? Can you handle this?"

I blinked a few times, surveying my shaking hands for a moment. Finally, my mind cleared and I returned my gaze to him. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

I nodded, swallowing down the bile that had risen in my throat.

We lept into the fray, joining Ladybug. "So, you have a brother?"

"Still not going to betray you," I replied immediately, keeping my eyes on him.

"Oh, I'm not worried about that," She flicked a hand dismissively. "Can you handle fighting him?"

"Well, he was a controlling prick throughout my entire childhood, devastated me by faking his death and has been working with Hawkmoth the entire time." I listed, feigning cheerfulness. "I think I can manage to work up a little anger at him somehow." _Please let this all be some horrible nightmare. I'm going to wake up soon._

She rolled her eyes at me. "Can you manage to not be sarcastic for a few minutes?"

I paused, pretending to think hard about it. Finally, I shook my head, "No."

She sighed and shook her head. "I didn't think so, but it was worth a shot."

"Currently, there happen to be more pressing matters." Chat interjected, using his staff like a bat to hit a pouch away from us.

"Any ideas?" Ladybug asked.

I shook my head, not sure if she was actually talking to me or not. "He knows all my ideas. He taught them to me."

"Are you sure you can fight him?"

 _No._

"Absolutely."

They both jumped out of the way as another pouch was thrown at us. I simply stood, waiting for the cloud to disperse. "You've become predictable."

Lepus didn't seem to appreciate being called predictable.

His eyes narrowed and darkened, his hands clenching into fists. "At least I don't whine about being alone and not having anyone to rely on." He lunged forward and I sidestepped, drawing a fan out, intent on shoving it into his side like he'd done to me months ago.

He smirked, quickly jerking out of my range. "Does that wound still hurt?"

"Not as much as you're about to," I growled, diving at him.

He smirked again and it wasn't his foot had connected with my side that I realized he'd lashed out. I stumbled, the old injury now flaring up again. "You forget, little sister, I taught you everything you know. There's nothing you can do that I can't do better."

"Oh believe me," I hissed, trying to appear less incapacitated than I really was. "I haven't forgotten." I closed my eyes, breathing deeply to try and relieve the pain.

 _Where are you, little akuma? Where are you hiding?_

"Here's an idea," A familiar voice said, followed by a surprised grunt. "You back off and stay away from her."

I opened my eyes, finding Chat with his staff across Lepus' chest, pinning them together. A strange glint shone in my eye and I blinked until I found the source. His leg.

 _That anklet... That was dads. That has to be where the akuma is!_

"Aw, has the little tomcat come to save his damsel in distress? I thought you were in love with Ladybug."

I motioned for said red and black heroine to come over and pointed out the anklet to her. Once she'd gotten around them, I stood up. "I don't think who he loves matters. And even if it did, he's mad for Ladybug, not me."

"Too bad." Lepus mocked, struggling against Chat's hold. "Although, even if he did love you, I'm sure you'd just turn him down, wouldn't you? You have a knack for unknowingly hurting everyone around you."

"I think you're getting the two of us confused again."

"I didn't take you for the jewelry type." Ladybug said, appearing near us abruptly. She stooped down as Lepus began to struggle even more violently and ripped the anklet off him. She threw it on the ground and stomped on it, the akuma fluttering out of it weakly. His grey spotted white leotard disappeared, leaving a frailer, jean and hoodie-clad version of him. He slumped, his messy hair hanging in his eyes. He stopped squirming as if the akuma had been the only thing keeping him alive enough to fight.

Chat let him go and he fell against the roof as if every single one of his bones had turned to slinkies and could no longer support his weight. I cautiously stepped forward, reaching out to him. Kneeling down, I brushed hair out of his face and forced his head up. Meeting his eyes, I searched desperately for a shred of the man who'd raised me, the one I'd loved and looked up to. The moment he realized it was me looking at him, however, some mix of anger and defiance sparked in his eyes and he lashed out, a fist flying towards me. Chat lunged forward and wrestled him into a tight chokehold again, while I stumbled back, still trying to process what had just happened.

He was mumbling incoherently, though I could tell by his tone that it was probably about me and along the lines of hate and anger.

"Bye-bye, little butterfly." Ladybug said happily and suddenly, Nicholas (my brother and whatever he'd become when he decided to work for Hawkmoth were always going to be different in my head) jerked and went limp again, but it was different than before.

Chat and I was kneeling next to him in the same minute. Some dreadful feeling pooled in my stomach and I checked his pulse, hoping wildly that I was wrong.

 _No._

"What did you do?" I growled, feeling my dread give way to something akin to grief and rage. I stood and turned on Ladybug, unable to act sweet and kind towards her anymore. "What did you do?" I asked again and though my voice hadn't gotten any louder, it had turned ice cold.

"I purified the akuma."

"You killed him!"

"How was I supposed to know it would kill him?"

"You shouldn't have rushed into getting rid of it!"

"What else was I supposed to do? Let him ran around all of Paris with an akuma hiding in him?"

I stayed silent, feeling boiling hot tears welling up in my eyes. Why was I so upset? My brother had never been anything other than cruel to me.

"If you ask me, it was the right thing to do."

"Well, no one asked you, did they?" I exploded. "What the hell were you thinking? Why couldn't you just wait another minute?"

"This is the only way he could've ever come close to redeeming himself for what he did!" Ladybug yelled back.

"You don't know that! You don't even know what all he's done!" I turned away from her, away from Chat, away from the body of the man I'd called my brother.

"Vixen-"

"Don't Chat. Don't even try." I closed my eyes and grit my teeth, almost aching with the effort it took to keep myself composed.

A lone tear slipped out anyway.

"I'm leaving," I said finally, refusing to look at either of them. I wrapped my arms around myself in a sort of a hug, I supposed. "Don't follow me."

I jumped off the roof and did the thing I always did. The one thing I could actually manage to get right every time.

I ran.

 **END**


End file.
